A Sea of Stars
by Noatun
Summary: Lina Inverse just can't catch a break! A few months after the defeat and banishment of Dark Star, just when Lina thought she was in luck, a mishap at the Temple of Chronos leaves the Slayers stranded in another world. The group is joined by Luke and Milina as they pursue their goals and dreams on the Grand Line. Act 1 completed.
1. Chapter 1 - A Sea of Stars

**Chapter 1: ****A Sea of Stars**

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"Lots and lots of powers…?" Lina scoffed, not believing a word that she was hearing.

"Why yes!" The tourism official smiled, his voice positively dripping with false sincerity. "According to the legend, the original owner of this sword used it to confront the Hellmaster himself during the War of Resurrection. Surely a traveling sorceress and swordsman would find some better use for it than, ah, humble townsfolk such as ourselves. Four hundred gold pieces to take it away. What do you say?"

There were some weapons so famous that their names were instantly recognizable. The Demon King's Staff of Bones once clashed with earth-shattering force against Ceipheed's Flare Dragon Sword. The Elmekia Blade, a sword that cut only on the Astral Plane. Closest to home was the Sword of Light, which Gourry had given away following a recent conflict. The list was pretty short.

Rumors of these and other artifacts abounded, luring treasure hunters ever onward. A marvelous weapon slumbering in a forgotten cave. An enchanted lake where a beautiful lady would emerge and hand over a legendary sword in exchange for a broken blade. The lost temple of the Water Dragon King, concealing a staff capable of pacifying the seas themselves. And most commonly, a sword stuck in a rock conveniently located just outside of random towns and villages, waiting for a worthy owner to come pull it out.

Nearly all fake of course, cheap tourist attractions placed there by the villagers. Some places would collect a fee from anyone who wants to try their luck at drawing the sword out. Others charged just for the privilege of looking. Some went the extra mile and used blades enhanced by gems or enchantments to fool travelers into buying them at greatly inflated prices. Just like this village here.

"Well, the design is nice." Lina began, drawing the blade from its sheath and feeling its weight in her grip. A solitary diamond rested at the end of its silver latticed hilt, its gleam captivating the eye when held to the light. "And I can tell it's got good deflection."

"Uh huh! Uh-huh! That's right!" The tourism official nodded. "You have an excellent eye for quality!"

"And it's plenty sharp too! Actually better than most of the ones I've seen." Lina finished her analysis and handed the weapon to Gourry. The blonde swordsman quickly removed a bent and fire scorched sword from his belt, replacing it with the new one.

"Twenty-five." Lina said confidently, removing a handful of coins from a hidden pouch. The deal was already done in her mind.

"Twenty-five!? Surely a blade such as this is worth at least three-hundred and fifty!"

"No, I think twenty-five sounds about right."

"How about just two-hundred?"

"Twenty-five."

"One-fifty?'

"Twenty-five."

"Um, miss!?" The tourism official wailed, his face contorting with a mixture of frustration and anxiety. "If you can't pay the going price you could at least barter toward a midpoint!"

"Oh I can pay." Lina waved the man off. "But this sword simply isn't worth that much. You might be able to fool some second-rate wizard but I can tell _exactly_ what enchantments are on it. So with that I think you're getting a real bargain. I'm giving you twenty five plus..." Lina paused, twirling a finger through a lock of hair. She grinned deviously as an idea filtered through her mind.

"Plus the promise not to tell anyone else on the road just what sort of 'legendary' weapons your village deals in."

The official's face paled instantly at the retort. "Twenty-five." He gave his mumbled consent, taking the coins with one hand.

Enjoying a moment of satisfaction in an otherwise dull journey, Lina looked back toward Gourry for an endorsement of her cunning. The blank return stare reminded Lina that there was no moment too perfect for her 'protector' to ruin.

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* * *

Holding a Light spell close to his map as the sky darkened and woods faded to black, Zelgadis gave a grunt of annoyance when Lina butted into his thoughts.

"So? So? How much further Zel?" Lina tugged at his sleeve.

"We'll get there when we get there." Zelgadis scowled and fought her off. Once again, Lina had ensnared him with a familiar siren's call: a cure for his hated chimerism. However, with all the detours and distractions that were part and parcel of traveling with her, the journey so far had been thoroughly unproductive.

"What nice weather we're having right Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia chimed in. Lina's pattern of beating and looting every bandit gang they came across was making a wild goose chase take even longer. And now Amelia was picking up the habit, throwing herself into the fray with almost more enthusiasm than Lina did. Zelgadis shuddered, but couldn't help smiling at the same time. The Saillune princess had an outlet at last after months trapped at court, attending her royal duties.

"Yeah." Zelgadis replied, raising a hand and pointing toward the northeast, where faint red glow of the setting sun was visible over the horizon. "Anyway, there should be a town somewhere in that direction. If we stay there we should reach the marked location before noon tomorrow."

"Hey guys, does the sun normally set in the northeast?" Gourry squinted at the red haze in the distance, "I wonder if there's a fire over there."

Zelgadis watched silently as a jolt seemed to pass through Lina's body.

"This is no time to be standing around! Don't you realize what this means, Gourry? If that fire is burning down the next town, we're going to have to sleep outside tonight! Outside, in the cold!" Lina shrieked.

"What sort of monster would set a fire to a nice peaceful town..." Amelia added, the indignation building in her throat until it erupted in a crescendo. "The evildoers shall be smashed by the hammer of justice!"

"Well, yeah, but there's not much we can do about it..." Gourry mumbled, apparently content to mind his own business.

"Of course there is! We can hurry up and help put it out. For a reward of course." Lina urged as she wrapped a hand around Gourry's arm. A sudden windstorm kicked up, condensing into a barrier that carried the two through the air. Chanting their own incantations, Zelgadis and Amelia quickly followed suit.

Once they were in the air, they could see that the village ahead was wreathed in flames. Not just one or two buildings but a full quarter of the town had already been ravaged by the conflagration, and the rest would follow in short order. From the air, the party could make out monstrous figures darting through the flames, tormenting the terrified townsfolk. Lesser demons: the weakest members of the Mazoku race who possessed the bodies of animals in order to affect the physical world. Perhaps some local sorcerer had summoned more than he could handle; it was common knowledge that most could control no more than two, and the demons would reverted to their destructive instincts once released.

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With the demise of the demon lords Gaav and Phibrizo and the inability to source power from them, Lina had found her repertoire of spells suddenly reduced to plainly unacceptable levels. So in addition to searching for a replacement sword, Lina had dragged Gourry along with her to visit mage's guilds, archaeological sites and libraries. Zelas Metallium and Deep Sea Dolphin were not as well known as some of the other demon lords, but information on them existed as long as one knew where to look.

"Zelas Brid!" Lina shouted as a ribbon of shimmering energy emerged from her outstretched hands. The Brass Demon in front of her scarcely had time to cry out before the spell stitched through its chest. Its body collapsed, withering to dust while giving off an acrid burning stench. Another beast attacked from behind, flinging a barrage of Flare Arrows. Lina smirked as the band of light snaked back, interposing itself before the projectiles and detonating each in midair before fading away. Alright, that one still needed a little work.

With a deep snarl the demon gathered its power, forming it into several floating orbs of arcane fire.

"Felzareid!"

A bolt of light flashed across Lina's peripheral vision and speared through the demon's head. Quickly taking a look at her surroundings, Lina traced the flight path of the spell to a lone female figure crouching upon a rooftop. The woman looked to be in her twenties, her silver hair whipping about in the breeze, reflecting the dull orange glow of the remaining fires.

"We'll talk later. First, them." The sorceress gestured in the direction of the remaining creatures. With a nod, Lina turned her attention back to demon slaying until the last one was felled.

The evening chirping of the forest's birds resumed as the battle drew to a close. Alas, the damage was severe, with many wounded and nearly half the town consumed by flames. Even Lina couldn't bring herself to demand compensation as the wails of those who had lost homes, friends and family members filled the air.

"Yo, you weren't half bad!" A black-haired young man swaggered up as Lina took a moment to lean against a wall. She gave him a once-over. He seemed to be a mercenary, wearing a suit of light plate with a sword hanging from his belt. Objectively Lina could have said he was good looking, but something about his stark red eyes seemed just a bit too sharp and cruel.

"What do you mean weren't half bad?" Lina replied. "Hurry up and explain what happened here."

The man shrugged. "Well, my partner and I were just passing through when some demons swept in out of nowhere. There were a lot of them, and before we knew it, the houses started to burn."

His partner? Lina supposed he was referring to the other sorceress, which would add up to a generic pair of mercenaries.

"Maybe if your group had gotten here sooner," he continued, "we wouldn't be here with half the village burned down right now."

Lina scowled. "You've got some nerve blaming us. Now look here, old man!"

That had an effect, judging from the way the mercenary froze and his shoulders trembled slightly. A tic formed underneath one eye and a vein bulged out of his forehead. "Old... old man?"

"That's right!" Lina pressed, cutting him off. "I didn't see you doing anything. So just who do you think you are telling me that I'm not half bad when you hardly lifted a finger, huh? An _old man_ that's who!"

The mercenary's lip quivered as he shrank before the verbal barrage, looking around pleadingly. Lina followed his gaze, taking note of the silver-haired sorceress approaching, stopping behind him. For her part, the woman ignored her partner's pitiful glance.

Peeling herself from the wall, Lina decided it was better to just get out while she was ahead.

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"What are you following us for?!" The mercenary from earlier blurted as Lina lead her party into the dining floor of a tavern. He and his partner had already taken a table and were waiting for their meal.

"This is the only inn left in town idiot!" Lina shot back venomously. "I didn't come here because I wanted to see _you_."

"Err... did something happen between them?" Amelia whispered to Zelgadis, slowly shifting away from the action.

"Luke, how about the two of you put this off for some other time." The sorceress' quiet voice effortlessly defused the bomb that was about to explode.

"Well, as much as I like to see annoying girls get what they deserve," Luke said, "if Milina says so I ain't objecting."

The white-haired sorceress, Milina it seemed, began again, introducing herself charmingly. She noted offhandedly that she was traveling with Luke in search of some rumored artifact around these parts.

"Hmm, what a coincidence. We're here chasing rumors of a new spell." Lina quickly lied in response, silencing Amelia's building objection with a swift kick to the shin, under the table and out of sight. She called over the waiter, rattling off her order and adding a request for two rooms for the night.

"When you're a world-class sorceress like me you have to work hard to stay on top." She said.

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The sun rose the next morning, sending tendrils of light streaming between the mountain crags, sweeping over trees and towns. A songbird alighted on a branch, bobbing slightly before bursting into into melody.

A piercing scream erupted from an adjacent building, sending the poor creature fluttering for distance.

"Wake up you bums!" Lina exploded into the men's room and gave each of their beds a hard kick. "Get up, we're leaving right now!"

"Hey, hey Lina!" Gourry objected. "What's the rush?"

"You heard them!" Lina replied. "Those two are treasure hunters. And if they're looking for what we're looking for there's a good chance it might actually be worth something. This is the best lead we've had in a while so it's absolutely essential that _we_ get there first!"

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"Woahhh... hey Lina check it out, there's a funny looking cloud up there." Gourry gazed up absentmindedly, loafing around without a care in the world.

"I don't care about some stupid cloud right now Gourry." Lina growled, sweeping her hands through the thick underbrush. The tourism official's instructions had stated that a hidden passage lay somewhere nearby, which would lead them to their next objective.

"Better yet, if you have time to stare at clouds, how about giving me a hand here?"

"It's already been three hours since we've started searching this path." Zelgadis added unhelpfully. "Lina, are you sure this is the right place?"

"My...my... what do we have here?" A voice drifted through the air, smooth as a dagger plunging through silk. The space above a nearby tree branch seemed to part, making way for a spinning black cone, replaced an instant later by a purple haired young man, smiling in a disarmingly friendly expression. The self-proclaimed 'trickster priest' Xellos.

_We're on the right track to something,_ was Lina's immediate thought, _But it might not be something we want._

"Xellos! What are you doing here?" Zelgadis was the first to react, his hand shifting to the hilt of his weapon. Naturally wary and distrusting, Zelgadis was never happy to see the Mazoku.

"Come now Mr. Zelgadis, after all we've been through together you needn't be so hostile. We're friends right?" The trickster priest lowered himself to the ground, leaning slightly on his staff for balance. "I've here to help you find for your objective because it is an object of interest to me as well. Have you heard of... the Temple of Chronos?"

"What?!" Lina could not help but yell out. "The Temple of Chronos? You mean the mystical ground whose location varies from day to day and can only be found once in a person's lifetime? The artifact said to grant its wielder anything he desires?"

"That would be it." Xellos agreed. "And lucky for you, its current location is rather close to here. Shall I take you to it?"

Hours of searching through the underbrush were instantly forgotten as Xellos lead the group unerringly along some path known only to him, to a cave entrance covered by a curtain of tall, grassy stalks.

Pausing to push aside the last few bunches of reeds, the Mazoku priest held out a hand as if in welcome. Lina's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness until she could make out a flat metallic disc resting on the dank cave floor. As she stared, the center of the disc glowed blue, its parts shifting and sliding to form what appeared to be a world, divided by a massive mountain range that ran down its meridian. And beside the platform stood the two treasure hunters, Luke and Milina.

"Oh." Milina spoke first, doing her best to conceal the surprise in her voice. "It looks like we were searching for the same thing after all."

"Wow, this place must be pretty famous if you guys were looking for it too." Gourry said.

"Well of course!" Lina rushed into the cavern, rubbing her hands together. She scanned the disk with her eyes for any sign of further activity, making sure to keep a safe distance. "There are those who say this temple holds the power to transcend time and space and whomsoever enters it can be granted powers that put modern sorcery to shame."

"Well I have no idea what you are talking about but I guess the gist of it is that these ruins are pretty amazing right?" Gourry sidled up to the platform and scuffed it with a boot.

"Don't touch it just because you feel like it!" Lina snapped. "What if you make it-"

"_Ruby Eye System Activated. Input from Ark Master confirmed. Initiating dimensional transfer sequence._" A mechanical voice interrupted, permeating the air and echoing off the cave walls, seeming to originate from no direction in particular.

"H-hey is that supposed to happen?" Zelgadis stammered.

"_Countdown to Dimensional Transfer Sequence._"

"We should forget about this." Milina stepped back from the device, giving Luke a nudge that snapped him out of his stupor.

"And high-tail it outta here!" Lina added. They didn't need to be told twice.

"_10...9..._"

"Ah!" Amelia cried out as her foot was caught on a fallen branch.

"_3...2...1..._"

"Hey that's not fair!" Gourry exclaimed. "Don't just start skipping numbers!"

"_Transferring._"

Darkness closed in from all sides, swallowing the surrounding landscape. The ground vanished, sending Lina tumbling uncontrollably through the blackness. Reaching frantically for anything she could grab hold of, Lina caught a glimpse of her companions spiraling through the void, their screams fading into the distance.

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**Author's Notes:** The story is already written up to its twelfth chapter in its second arc, so updates will be pretty frequent until then. Just a heads-up, it's already pretty long, but I hope you all enjoy it.

The Slayers anime continuity predominates for our purposes here, with TRY being the act that came directly before. However, I will lift elements from other Slayers media here and there, as Luke and Milina already attest to.


	2. Chapter 2 - Arrival

**Chapter 2: ****Arrival**

**Strong World Arc**

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A wave of cold water splashed over Lina's face, jolting her into consciousness. She threw a foot down to regain her balance, then struggled awkwardly for a moment, before realizing that she was floating in the sea.

"How'd I end up here?" Lina said to no one in particular. Reflexively she reached back, fingering a number of sacks hanging from her cloak, each one filled with coins and precious magical reagents. Confirming their presence, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Lina craned her head and scanned her surroundings. Though none of her friends were in the immediate area, there was a landmass visible in the distance. A port town lay upon the nearest shore, giving way to a lightly forested mountain. And above it...

Lina gaped as her eyes fell upon a second, larger island suspended in the air behind the first. Masses of water clung to its rocky cliffsides, glistening like titanic sapphires and feeding a waterfall that plunged into the sea surface below. Sure wasn't any place she knew.

Another splash of salty sea water into Lina's open mouth brought her back to her senses. She needed to find the others and figure out where in the world they arrived at.

"Raywing!" Lina called out, summoning a barrier of air that lifted her out of the sea. She took a moment to wring the water from her hair, and shivered as the magically animated wind blew against her sodden robes.

From her vantage point, Lina immediately identified Gourry floating face-up on the ocean surface, his knee-length hair spreading over the surface like strands trailing behind the body of a jellyfish. How appropriate. With a moment's thought the Raywing spell was turned downward, eventually forming a depression on the ocean surface. Gourry's eyelids fluttered open as Lina grabbed onto his boot.

"Hey Lin-mghff!" He gurgled as Lina lifted off with his leg in hand, plunging his face beneath the waves.

"Whoops! Sorry Gourry!" She said. With some effort, she rotated him to an upright position, holding him up by his shoulders. Though Gourry had the mental aptitude of a mass of soggy seaweed, his acute senses and animal-like instincts would prove useful in the search.

"Hey Lina, is that what I think it is?" Gourry asked, gesturing toward the floating island.

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one seeing things." Lina replied. "We should check it out after we've found the others."

After five minutes of searching the two of them caught sight of Luke, flying a frantic, looping path over the ocean. Lina could not help but crack a laugh as she pieced together his desperation and the absence of Milina.

"Well, he wasn't really my first choice but I guess it's better than nothing." Lina whispered to Gourry as they approached, making sure to speak just loudly enough for Luke to overhear.

"What are you going to do about this!?" Luke exploded as he noticed them.

"Quit your bellyaching." Lina reassured him, silently conceding that he was at least partially right. Though Gourry was the one who had activated the device.

"Milina and the others probably went to that town over there. Jeez, I bet if I didn't find you, you would have kept flying in circles out here until you died."

"I-I knew that!" Luke stammered, "Milina wouldn't get lost out here. I was... well come on!"

The trio made landfall and Luke broke off, mind filled with his own ideas on how to conduct a search. Lina shook her head when she saw him flying about erratically, stopping at points of interest and doubling back to areas that he had already passed. She could do better. By imagining the town as a grid, no point would be missed and no time would be wasted.

"Hey Lina." Gourry pointed at something below. "There's something going on there"

Dropping lower, Lina noticed a minor commotion in the street, centered around a beige-cloaked figure. Strands of blue wire-like hair poked out from the edge of his hood, drawn over his head. Zelgadis.

"Hey Zel!" Lina dropped to the ground, releasing Gourry from her hold, noticing immediately that her landing had attracted a considerable amount of unhidden staring. The words "Devil Fruit" were heard being spoken repeatedly in hushed tones.

"Lina, do you know just what's going on here?" Zelgadis demanded. "I don't know of any island that looks like this. And furthermore, no one here seems to know about sorcery."

"Maybe we were sent to the Outer World again?" Lina shrugged. Her stomach rumbled, a harsh reminder that they had left the inn that morning without eating breakfast. They needed a plan.

"Tell you what Zel." Lina began. "We'll split up. We need information. So we'll go find Amelia while you see if you can find some local maps or a library. That way we can figure out where we are and how we're going to get home."

Zelgadis nodded and gave a grunt of approval.

"Oh, and meet back at that restaurant in three hours!" Lina called to his back, pointing to a lively establishment at the end of the street. "Because I am starving!"

Once Zelgadis was gone, Lina and Gourry took to roaming the streets, while keeping eyes and ears peeled for any sort of commotion. Long distance flight was exhausting, especially when she had to generate enough lift for two.

Cries of alarm filtered from the bay, drawing Lina's attention.

"Looks like... pirates." Gourry said, squinting at a black-flagged caravel that had entered the inlet.

Lina smiled. "Great! They can pay for dinner."

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Sitting calmly amidst the panic erupting from the docks, Lina watched from the shore as the pirates crossed the bay. The ship cut quickly across the water's surface, pulled by its fluttering, triangular sails. A flag hoisted proudly over the tallest mast flapped in the breeze; the skull of its jolly roger altered into into a distinctive canine shape.

"It's the Wolf Pack Pirates!" A dockworker shouted as he fled.

"Wow, these pirates are pretty colorful." Gourry remarked. "It's like that time we broke into the Fighting Dragon's Blood Macho-"

"Don't remind me." Lina interrupted. Of all the things that Gourry could have remembered from the Claire Bible debacle it had to be that.

"I had been thinking of making a change to pirates anyway, so might as well get some practice in now." She added, rolling up her sleeves. "Bandits used to be as plentiful as cockroaches but... not anymore. And since Lina Inverse can't go without villains to thwart, I'll just have to beat up on some pirates instead, at least until the bandit population bounces back."

As the ship dropped anchor the hulking brute of a captain was the first to disembark, and at his command a horde of crewmates swept across the harbor, seizing anything they could carry. Large black-furred wolves were lead off the ship, snarling beasts kept barely restrained by the rattling chains around their necks. The captain himself swaggered up to one of the remaining dock workers and threw him to the ground.

"Don't worry, we're not here to wreck the place." He sneered. Around the dock, his crewmates were threatening the remaining civilians similarly. "Just give us what we want, and nobody gets hurt. See, I'm worth six million belis. I've killed thirty two men, so if anybody tries anything-"

"Stop that! Stay away from my dad!" A young girl cried out as she darting out from the crowd, ignoring the hands that grasped at her, trying to pull her back.

"Hanji! Get away from here!" The prone dockworker cried as his daughter stood, teary-eyed but defiant, giving the captain as ferocious of a glare as she could muster.

"I-I'll tell the Marines!" She threatened.

In a flash the pirate's leader was on her, the tip of his sword pressed lightly against her neck.

"Kids should be quiet when adults are doing business." The brute suggested.

Pushing her way through the crowd, an older woman, probably the girl's mother, threw herself to the ground before the pirates.

"Please! Let her go!" The woman pleaded, "She doesn't know what she's saying."

A tic formed under Lina's right eye. Watching thugs like these bully a young child never failed to bring her blood to a boil. This had gone on long enough.

"When the ugly head of evil rises," a shrill voice interrupted from above, "a hero will surely emerge! Prepare yourselves to be smashed by the hammer of justice!"

Striking a pose while she concluded her speech, Amelia launched herself into a dramatic leap from her perch on a tree. As she cleared the canopy, an outstretched branch caught her foot, sending her crashing into the pavement, face first. A round of confused stares followed this utterly ridiculous display but the pirate captain was the first to speak. "I don't know what game you're trying to pull here, but if you're a Marine I'll have no mercy on you."

"Flare Arrow."

Bolts of flame flew from Lina's outstretched hands, blasting apart the pirate ship's mast with a crackling boom. The remaining crew members dove into the sea as burning fragments rained down, setting fire to the deck. Recovering from his shock, the captain drew his sword.

"Alright! Who the hell's responsible for this?!" He hollered.

"You must not get out a whole lot do you?" Lina stepped forward, a smug expression on her face, determined to take back the initiative that Amelia had stolen. "I'm both sorceress and swords-woman, blessed with radiant beauty and unparalleled intellect. Basically, all you creeps need to know is that I, Lina Inverse, am a perfectly-great-beautiful-genius sorceress."

"She must have eaten a Devil Fruit captain!" One of the crew members cried.

"Well you know what to do men!" The captain barked. "Throw her into the sea and fish her out later. I know where we can sell ability users like her for a good price."

The armed mob rushed forward as a unit, weapons drawn and ropes at the ready. Handlers unchained their wolves and the starving beasts charged in to attack. With so many civilians nearby, Lina decided against the usual serving of flame and fury; they needed as much goodwill as they could get. But that didn't mean she had to be nice.

Lina smiled wickedly as she summoned a howling gale, throwing the first group onto their backs. A wave of cold exploded out from the epicenter of a Freeze Bullet, covering the ground with a layer of steel-hard ice and freezing the pirates in their tracks. Spectral serpents stalked the battlefield, striking at the shadows of every pirate that approached too closely and causing mirrored wounds to appear on their flesh and blood bodies.

"What the hell's going on!?" The captain cried as his crew was fell around him, decimated in an eye-blink. Thinking fast and desperate to avoid capture, he grabbed the girl with one hairy paw while pressing his sword against her neck.

"Sleeping."

The brute collapsed to the ground, motionless and snoring loudly. Even the roar of a dragon would not be able to awaken him now. Relaxing her stance, Lina looked across the bay to see Milina, now accompanied by Luke, lowering her hands from their casting position.

"This crook said he had a bounty on his head right?" Lina turned and asked the astonished crowd, producing a rope from one of her bags.

"Where do I take him for his reward?"

* * *

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* * *

Lina was secretly glad that Gourry had volunteered to accompany her to the collection office. She wasn't really one for sightseeing, and he was good at killing time with his absent-minded chatter. He also had a pair of nice, strong arms to help her drag the ogre down the street.

"Oops." Lina said as they dragged the man over a protruding stone, causing a red swell to grow from his head where it had hit him.

"Say, why did those pirates and the people in the marketplace think you were a 'Devil Fruit' user? You haven't... done anything like that right?" Gourry asked.

"Who knows? It probably isn't that important and we can always find that out later, after we get our money."

Lina halted as the civilians milling about ahead made way, and a dozen men ran past, dressed in identical white shirts and dark blue pants. Each one cradled a gun between his hands, and Lina grimaced. She'd seen those kinds of weapons during their adventure in the Outer World, and while they were pretty innovative, there was just something she didn't like about them. The leader of the men ran at the front, his head covered by a cap with the word "Marine" emblazoned at the front.

"Hey!" Lina shouted, waving to catch their attention. "You're the Marines right?"

"That's Morris the Wolf!" One shouted, garnering some murmured agreements. Flipping through a stack of papers, he produced a wanted poster, with the captive's grinning face printed prominently at the center.

* * *

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* * *

"Lina Inverse huh? You're a new face." The dark-suited base commander said, glancing up briefly from his forms. He turned, unlocking a safe tucked securely in one corner, and withdrew a stack of what appeared to be slips of paper or cloth. Rolling a finger over the edges of the notes, he began to count them under his breath.

"But this is quite a big haul you've made here. I don't know what you did to them but I have heard the rumors flying about, though that's not really my concern. Pirate captain Morris the Wolf, alive. His head's worth six million belis." The commander continued.

"Here's your payment." He slapped a wad of notes onto the counter top and gave it a gentle nudge in Lina's direction.

"What, this stuff is my payment?" Lina said, quirking up an eyebrow, and exchanging looks with Gourry. Money came in the form of coins, shaped from precious metals that gleamed and dazzled the eye. What good was a stack of colorful paper?

"Well I did see people using these to buy things in town." Gourry whispered, "So maybe here they really do use paper sheets."

The commander gave Lina a stare as if she had just grown a second head, and somewhat reassured, she opted to drop the topic. Adding up the values printed on each note, Lina confirmed the total to be six million.

"So, I'm pretty new at this bounty hunting business." Lina addressed the commander, idly fingering the strange money. "Where I came from most criminals didn't have them. Got any advice for an innocent maiden looking to rid the world of evildoers?"

The commander paused in his scribbling to chuckle at the words 'innocent maiden'.

"Anyone can do bounty hunting so long as they aren't criminals themselves. Piracy is rampant these days, the World Government wants as many of them caught as possible."

Lina cocked her head at the mention of a World Government. Just what was going on here? Nothing about this place added up.

She scowled. This was all Xellos' fault. He would know what was going on.

"Well thanks for uh... answering my questions." Lina said. "I think we'll need to be going now."

"Keep outta trouble." The base commander helpfully suggested as Lina closed the door behind her.

* * *

...

* * *

"Oh man... where the hell are we?" Lina moaned as soon as she and Gourry were out of earshot of the base. "We need to find Xellos and beat out of him exactly what is going on here!"

"So... where do you think he would be?" Gourry replied.

"Now that you bring it up, that's actually the problem. That joker just shows up whenever and wherever he wants. No point going out to look for him after that fight, he'll be there if he has something to say to us."

Approaching the docks, Lina breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the purple-haired priest, chatting with Amelia, Luke and Milina while they waited.

"Oh, Lina!" Xellos waved as Lina landed and released Gourry beside him. "I noticed there was some trouble by the docks but you took care of it as expected."

"Xellos! How nice to see you again!" Lina said, clasping her hands together in mock politeness. Before the Mazoku could reply, she pounced, her fist finding a home buried in the back of his head. Milina stared wide-eyed and covered her mouth as Lina continued her assault, trapping the priest in a brutal headlock.

"This is all your fault you crazy priest!" Lina snarled into his ear. "When are you going to start helping us for a change instead of leading us into trouble all the time!?"

"But it's really not my fault!" Xellos managed to choke out. "I didn't anticipate that this would happen. That's the truth, basically."

Lina loosened her grip, the initial adrenaline rush subsiding. "Just what are you playing at here Xellos, we don't have time for your games!"

"No really, I'm just as lost as you are." Xellos pulled himself free, holding up his hands in a placating gesture and putting up a convincing mask of fear. "But from what I can tell, the Temple of Chronos seems to have sent us into another world entirely. You remember the visitors from Dark Star's world not too long ago right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, because their astral forms were left behind when they arrived, they could not be harmed by the black magic of our world. However they were also limited in some ways, which is why they needed Valgaav's help to acquire the Gorun Nova."

"So you're saying this is happening to you?!" Lina practically screamed, looking around to see if her companions were similarly awed. Gourry was as clueless as ever, but Lina could practically see the gears turning in Amelia's head, her expression gradually replaced by one of shock. Milina and Luke furrowed their brows, furiously processing all this new information.

"That is correct." Xellos said.

Lina opened her mouth to reply, then paused as her stomach grumbled. All of the stress was definitely getting to her.

"Well, that's a lot for us to think about." She said, pulling a face. "Who wants to do it over dinner?"

* * *

...

* * *

"Are you sure we don't have to pay for this? I mean I just gave that wolf guy to the Marines." Lina mumbled over a mouthful of spaghetti and beef. Normally she'd have taken a free meal without question, but she had yet to develop an attachment to the colorful notes she got from the commander.

"Don't worry about it!" Hanji's mother smiled as she removed the empty plates. "You saved our town!"

"Big sis, you're really strong!" Hanji said happily.

"Of course! I'm unbeatable!" Lina basked in the praise and crammed another piece of fish into her mouth.

"I don't get how a flat-chested, wishy-washy waif like you can eat more than me." Luke protested under his breath.

"Who're you calling flat-chested?!"

"Hey Lina, I was thinking..." Gourry interrupted the argument.

"You were thinking? Hey, that's a new one." Lina replied. "And what were you thinking about?"

"Weren't we supposed to meet Zelgadis at some other restaurant?"

* * *

...

* * *

"With piracy this common, this world is a pretty dangerous place. We were fortunate to land in the most peaceful of the seas." Zelgadis looked around as he finished, his dignified expression betraying his pride at having contributed so much. To his dismay, only Milina and Xellos appeared to have paid attention, while each of the others competed to eat more than the last. Hanji laughed as Lina and Amelia gave some muffled responses through their mouthfuls of food.

"Are you even listening to me!?" Zelgadis cried, slamming his hands down on the table.

"I heard it." Lina reassured him as she washed down her food with a gulp of water. She paused before reaching for another bite, pondering the implications. The inhabitants of this region had no knowledge of magic, but Zelgadis had described objects called 'Devil Fruits', which, if eaten, would grant the user access to similar powers, at the cost of their ability to swim. Lina resolved to get her hands on one of these fruits. If the magic behind its enchantment could be reverse engineered, it would be far more valuable than than any old pile of money.

"So uh, Zel, how long were you waiting before Amelia found you?" Lina asked.

"Two hours." Was his terse reply. Lina quickly averted her eyes, glancing back and forth before focusing on her food.

Lina paused as she felt something beneath her feet, the clattering of silverware accompanied by the distant thunder of cannons. Glancing out the window, she could see a column of black smoke rising from the direction of the Marine base, its shadow stretched long across the town by the light of the setting sun.

"Twice in one day?" Lina groused, standing up from her seat. "And this one sounds pretty serious too."

"Are you leaving?" Hanji asked, voice quivering.

"Don't you worry Hanji, I'm unbeatable." Lina winked. She ran a hand through the girl's hair to reassure her. "And thanks for the food."

* * *

...

* * *

"Well, you don't see something like this every day." Lina scratched a cheek as she hovered at a safe height, and stared at the sight before her.

A trail of flattened trees, beginning at the island's uninhabited northern shore and looping around the central mountain, marked the passage of a gargantuan cephalopod. The creature glided through the Marine base, sweeping fortifications aside with a forest of flailing tentacles. The few remaining cannons Lina could see from the air continued to fire ineffectually, their projectiles pattering uselessly against its mottled purple skin.

"Damn!" Zelgadis cursed. "Those soldiers aren't going to last another minute like this."

"And then that monster will be free to rampage through the town!" Amelia cried. With a shriek of wind she willed her Raywing spell forward, zooming out of earshot before Lina could stop her.

"Val Flare!"

A roaring stream of fire was expelled from Amelia's upraised hands, condensing into the shape of a spear moments before impact. Flames poured over the octopus' body and Amelia struck a dramatic pose with her back to the blast, flashing the victory sign.

Victory celebrations were interrupted by a low hiss from the wounded beast, as it snatched up hunks of rubble with its twenty limbs, throwing up a veritable wall of debris into Amerlia's path. A chunk of masonry deflected off the surface of Amelia's Raywing globe, destabilizing it as another slammed into her head. Zelgadis dashed forward, catching the Saillune princess in his arms before she could hit the ground.

"I don't think this is going to work." Amelia pulled herself up unsteadily, rubbing a bright red bruise on her forehead.

"We've got its attention." Milina pointed at the advancing monster. "But we have to lead it away from the town."

"Let it chase us up the mountain!" Luke suggested.

"Alright!" Lina rolled up her sleeves. "And then I can really cut loose."

"Hey Lina, where'd Xellos go?" Gourry asked. "He was with us just a second ago."

Looking around, Lina could see no sign of the Mazoku. Worrying, but not the first priority at the moment.

With the plan set Milina and Luke sped forward, peppering the octopus with spells and deftly evading its retaliatory throws. In an instant the town was forgotten and the cephalopod turned to pursue the two up the mountain slope. Zelgadis lifted Gourry into the air while he and Lina followed.

_"Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright. Gather in my hand and become an inferno!"_ Lina chanted, forming an orb of fire between her cupped hands. Orange flames intensified to a blueish white, shedding waves of shimmering heat like the desert sun.

"How do you like your octopus done Gourry?" Lina asked smugly.

"I don't know..." The swordsman scratched his forehead. "It's been so long since we've ordered any that I forgot how they tasted."

Lina sighed. "Give the signal Zelgadis." She ordered.

A light spell condensed to a single flash signaled that the attack was ready. Luke and Milina replied in kind before accelerating, putting distance between themselves and their pursuer.

"Take this! Burst Flare!"

The burning plasma sphere summoned by the spell raced downward, striking the monstrous cephalopod and engulfing it in a flood of white-hot flame. An explosion rippled outward, shattering trees and throwing bits of molten rock into the air. As the flames died down, the monster's blackened and crumbling body tumbled out of the smoke, coming to a rest at the base of the slope.

"Victory." Lina smirked as Luke and Milina rejoined the group.

"Don't celebrate too soon." Milina pointed at a number of blazes sparked by the spell, several of which began to grow and spread rapidly across the mountainside.

"Who would have thought that fire wasn't a good element to use here?" Luke interjected, unwilling to miss a chance to score some points.

* * *

...

* * *

"We are very grateful for your help in this matter and we will tell you anything we can." The Marine commander gave a salute. Though he tried his best to look sharp, his eye wandered up to the mountain, now marred by alternating patches of charred trees and glistening ice blocks.

"How long has that floating island in the north been there?" Lina pushed straight to the point, "The monster's trail came from the same side so there's something very fishy going on."

The Marine commander nodded. "It arrived just days ago; we don't know where from. East Blue is the most peaceful sea and the Marine presence is not as strong as it is on the Grand Line, so if there are more of those things, we may have to order an evacuation of the town."

Lina smiled.

"Hey look, maybe I can help you out." She offered. "How much is it worth to you if I can get rid of that island."

* * *

...

* * *

"Wow, I don't know how money sixty million belis is but it sure sounds like a lot." Gourry said, shivering slightly in the cool mountain breeze. "Making money off of the lives of helpless villagers though. Only Lina would come up with such a sinister- err, I mean never mind." Gourry's mouth snapped shut with an audible clack of teeth, and he tried his best to avoid the venomous gaze that Lina was sending his way.

"How do you plan to do it?" Milina asked, brushing some hair from her eyes as she gazed directly at the island.

"I can see more of those creatures in the masses water on the sides." Zelgadis reported, dropping down from a higher elevation with a spyglass in his hand.

"Well, no regrets. We aren't going to get paid if we just stand here." Lina raised her hands, forming a cross with her Demon's Blood Talismans.

_"Lords of the Darkness of the Four Worlds, on thy bonds I do swear. Grant me all the power that you possess!"_

Power surged through Lina's body, drawn across the nether from the four Demon Kings. The previously inert jewels now glowed bright red, coloring the surrounding area with their fell radiance. The power of a boosted Dragon Slave; with it, Lina could reduce an entire island to dust. Amelia and Zelgadis combed through their pockets and bags, producing pairs of shades that they donned to protect their eyes from the glare of the blast.

_"Power beyond the twilight and crimson blood that flows, buried in the stream of time is where your power grows."_

Milina whipped around, staring with wide eyes. "Isn't that the..."

_"I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes who stand, before the mighty gift bestowed, in my unworthy hand. Dragon Slave!"_

The entire mountainside flashed red at the instant of the spell's completion, and a crimson missile, the power of Ruby Eye made manifest, was sent hurtling over the sea from Lina's outstretched hands. The Dragon Slave slammed into its target, bursting into a new sun that turned the night to day. Water was flashed to vapor, stone was reduced to ash, and the floating isle vanished into the blast, never to be seen again.

"It's gone." Milina said as she squinted at fading explosion.

"I hope Luke here will have a little more respect for me in the future." Lina crowed.

"Even if he doesn't, I know I will." A voice said from behind, accompanied by the scraping of steel on stone.

All eyes turned back to see the towering figure of a man standing behind the group. He was dressed in a gold-striped overcoat, with a wild mane of golden hair stretching down past his waist. Lina winced as she scanned his legs; both were crudely amputated below the knees, replaced by a pair of swords that gleamed in the afterglow of the explosion. She craned up to look at his face, and her eyes drifted to a steering wheel embedded in the man's balding head.

"W-who are you?" Amelia stopped staring just long enough to ask.

"I am the Golden Lion, Shiki." Was the answer. "A pirate."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** For those who haven't watched it, Golden Lion Shiki primarily features in the One Piece: Strong World movie, with some of his background detailed in Chapter 0. The real action starts next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3 - Clash

**Chapter 3: Clash**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

"I am the Golden Lion, Shiki. A pirate." The man said with his head held high, his eyes scanning over each of Lina's companions in turn.

"A-a pirate?!" Amelia jabbed an accusing finger at Shiki, seguing it into a dramatic pose. "That means you're a villain who challenges righteousness and disturbs the world order! But it's not too late! End your evil ways at once, and become... an ally of justice!"

"Ji-hahahaha!" Shiki threw back his head and howled with laughter. "Justice?" He growled, expression changing suddenly to one of barely contained fury.

"What do you know about justice?" He stroked his bushy beard and glared at Amelia. "Can you touch it? How do you define it? To do what is just? Who decides what actions are just and which ones are the opposite?"

"Justice is just a myth." He said. "When anyone can justify anything to themselves, the only justice that can exist in this world is the justice of the strong, isn't that right? It would be better if you realized this sooner rather than later."

Amelia gave no reply and so, somewhat mollified, Shiki shuffled to one side and sat down on a boulder.

"Now then." He began, wagging a finger at his audience. "You've just destroyed something very valuable to me. But I'm not angry. No, I am not angry because nothing is more valuable to me than my crewmates. I don't know what you did there but I'm very impressed, especially at you, baby girl." He pointed at Lina, who tensed reflexively.

"An island can be replaced." Shiki continued, "But this, this is what changes the world!"

Standing back up to his full height, Shiki raised his hands to the sky. "Join me!" He exulted. "Join me and we will snatch the power from the weaklings who hold it now. Join me, and before the eyes of the world **_we will write our own justice!_**"

"That was it?" Lina let out a quiet cough and gave the others an incredulous look. "That's what the so-called 'Golden Lion' wants from us? The pirate who lets monsters attack helpless towns wants me to join him for 'his justice'? Does anyone else get the idea that this is all just a bad joke?"

"Hrmmm." Shiki grunted. "You won't come easily eh? What do I need to give you to have you at my side, baby girl? Land? Treasure? Power?"

"Well you can start by not calling me 'baby girl'." Lina began. "And second, if you're a pirate, then you can let me have the bounty on your head! _Fireball!_"

The entire area around Shiki erupted into flame, but the pirate made no attempt to evade. "Jiihahaha!" He cackled, a shimmering silhouette at the center of the conflagration. "Well if you want a fight, let's see what you've got!"

"_Felzareid!_" Milina replied, a bright blue ray spiraling from her hands. Noticing the attack coming, Shiki took flight, only to be met by Luke in the air. The pirate raised a knee in response, clashing blade to blade with his opponent. Luke smirked as a boulder behind Shiki was split vertically and Gourry leapt out from the crack. His blade flashed a silver arc through the air and struck its mark.

"I have to admit," Shiki said, "you've got good teamwork there, blondie. You actually made me block with my hand."

Though Gourry's blade was now gripped in the pirate's hand, not even a trickle of blood flowed where the edge made contact with his palm. No, that wasn't it. There was a tiny gap visible between the pirate's palm and the blade of his sword, as if they were being held apart by some invisible force.

"But now that you've pushed me this far, don't expect me to go easy on you!" Shiki roared, flinging Luke away with a kick and turning to face Gourry. Forcing aside his opponent's weapon, Shiki slammed his clenched fist into Gourry's chest, sending the swordsman crashing to the ground.

Luke regained his bearings with a Levitation as Shiki turned back, kicking at him rapidly with his prosthetic swords, filling the air with a golden flurry of slicing wind blades. Cuts appeared on Luke's limbs and he reacted desperately to block, kept just barely alive by his combat-honed reflexes.

"_Rah-Tilt!_" Zelgadis unleashed his trump card from the air, and Shiki jerked back, swallowed by a column of ephemeral blue flames. Granted a reprieve, Luke dropped to the ground, panting and bleeding heavily. Milina rushed forward, pressing glowing hands against her partner's back.

Stumbling from the Rah Tilt's flames, Shiki struggled to stand, his face pale and and his breathing heavy - suffering from the effects of severe astral side damage. Amelia wasted no time, calling forth spheres of glowing white energy that shimmered around her balled fists.

"_Visfarank!_" She cried, drawing an arm back and throwing a haymaker at the pirate's chin.

Shiki gave a grunt of annoyance. He raised a hand, and a thick column of earth rose up around himself. Amelia's fist slammed into the barrier, cracking and cratering the stone but failing to penetrate.

"Everyone get back!" Lina ordered from above, having completed her incantation, a fully formed Dragon Slave burning furiously between her outstretched hands. "As long as he's in there, I can finish him off with this! _Dragon Slave!_"

The entire mountainside shuddered as the spell collided with its target, blossoming into a hemisphere of terrible, radiant energy. Tremors tore through the ground, uprooting trees, crumbling cliffs and sending boulders tumbling down the slopes. At last the shaking subsided, and the residual glare faded from the cloud of dust thrown up by the blast.

Lina relaxed as she spotted her friends, huddled together under a shimmering barrier. She released her Raywing and touched down beside them, taking a moment to wipe away the beads of sweat gathering on her forehead.

"Was that guy really a human?" Lina gasped between breaths.

"I don't know, but we haven't even been here for a day." Luke replied, trying his best to put up a strong front, then falling onto his knees only a moment later. Milina's Recovery spell had taken a lot of stamina out of him.

"We're in for some hard times if there are even more people on that level." Zelgadis added. "But never mind that, let's-wait."

The tremors renewed, and Lina froze, her eyes widening fractionally. She glanced down, and saw the pebbles at her feet starting to tremble and dance, accompanied by a bone deep rumbling that caused her stomach to churn. Another earthquake.

"Amelia, get that barrier back up." She quickly ordered.

No, not another earthquake.

"_Menacing Lion - Winding Earth!_" Shiki's voice echoed from within the remnants of the explosion.

"W-what?! No way!" Lina stammered as the earth around her began to flow and surge like water; solid, yet flowing at the same time. With an ear-splitting crack the northern half of the island rose up, a rippling tsunami of dirt and stone that blotted out the sky, a crushing stone tide that pulverized everything in its way. The crest of the wave contorted, molding itself into a circle of titanic, roaring lion heads.

"Everyone run for it!" Lina cried as she reactivated her Raywing, weaving to avoid the earthen onslaught. To her surprise, the stone constructs avoided contact, forming a hole for her to escape through even as they assaulted her friends. Lina turned back in desperation but the earth compacted together, forming an airtight dome to cut her off. Then with a dull roar, the earthen hemisphere contracted, twisting into a helical spire that stabbed into the heavens. The faces of the others emerged from its surface, unconscious and bloody, while a colossal mass of stone emerged at the tip of the column, poised to crush everyone if it fell.

"Gourry! Guys!" Lina cried in horror, collapsing to her knees, as the clank of metal on stone behind her signaled the Golden Lion's return. The pirate's gait was halting and stiff, and his eyes were glazed and unfocused. His bushy golden hair had been blackened by the blast and his clothing was tattered and scorched. A massive burn wound on his now exposed chest oozed blood and pus, but the same hideous grin still adorned his face.

The remaining smoke cleared away from the mountainside, revealing that much of the mass near the peak had been shifted downward, shielding Shiki from the full force of the blast. Though the Dragon Slave had reduced the slope to a hellish crater of charred rock, the Golden Lion had endured the indirect hit.

"I think you fully understand the situation at hand, baby girl." Shiki said. "Now you see the truth of my words. It's always so unfortunate when it has to come to this."

A long pause followed before Lina could bring herself to respond. "Don't hurt them anymore." She said, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Uh-uh." Shiki wagged a finger disapprovingly. "When you join a crew, it's because you want something from the captain right?"

Lina's heart sank as she realized what she had to do, and she fought down the ensuing wave of emotion.

"And my friends?" She demanded.

"I value my crewmates more than anything else in the world." Shiki answered, placing a hand over his chest in a solemn gesture. "The friends of my crewmate are friends of mine as well. Of course, they would be welcome."

Lina's mind flashed to the town, to the people there who had been the first to help her in this strange land.

"And if I join you will you stop the monster attacks?" She gestured in the direction of the village, now visible from the northern slope following the rearrangement of the island's terrain.

"But of course! If that's what you want, then I won't lay a finger on them." Shiki replied unhesitatingly.

"Then..." Lina swallowed the lump in her throat. It was a very bitter pill. She would submit. _For now._

Lina opened her mouth to speak. Shiki crouched down, bringing his face close to hers, the better to hear her decision. His sick grin stretched wider.

"Let me be a part of your crew."


	4. Chapter 4 - Justice

**Chapter 4: Justice**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina leaned against a window of the common room, staring idly at the shoals of islands drifting by. Some sported lush jungles, while others were dominated by scorching deserts. Forests whose leaves reddened with the onset of fall lay beside fields whose flowers bloomed in vivacious splendor to welcome the coming of spring. A snow-capped mountain range crowned the central landmass. Nearly every conceivable climate, hovering side by side. The Golden Lion's throne: Merveille.

The constant roar of the waterfall pouring down just outside had prevented her from getting much sleep during their first night as the 'newest members of the Golden Lion Pirates'. When she'd complained, Shiki had moved the topographical feature elsewhere without any objection. Though Lina had little doubt that this veneer of camaraderie was concealing some vile ulterior motive, she felt that at least for now, she could rest knowing that he appeared to not be harboring ideas of immediate betrayal.

Crossing her arms and shutting her eyes, Lina replayed the events of last night's battle in her mind. Their opponent was strong; inhumanly strong, and with enough skill to match Gourry and Luke - who was no slouch himself - in close combat despite. With just a bare hand, he had blocked Gourry's blade, and with his prosthetics, he could launch a flurry of attacks each on level of a Bram Gash. He could move mountains, islands; Lina looked again at the array of landmasses drifting by. Even a group of sorcerers attempting a similar feat with magic would be exhausted within minutes, but Shiki maintained his floating stronghold without any sign of strain with what he claimed was the power of his Float-Float Fruit. What was its source of power?

_Luke was right,_ Lina thought, _If this is the level of opponent we can expect to face, we're in for some tough times ahead._

"And when that numbskull is right about something." She said to herself. "I feel even worse."

"How could you Miss Lina?! How could you?!" Amelia exploded into the room, interrupting Lina's thoughts, her face contorting with a mixture of anguish and rage. "Agreeing to work under a villain! Now I'm working under a villain!"

Ah, she had woken up. Amelia's injuries had been the most severe, and healing them all with Recovery should have drained a lot of her stamina. It was touch and go a few times.

Ignoring the provocation, Lina smiled inwardly, relieved Amelia was alright.

"I think Amelia is in real trouble." Gourry pointed out, stepping in after her. He gestured toward the Saillune princess, who was now slumped against a wall, clutching her head and moaning to herself. Zelgadis followed, sheathing his sword with a metallic clink.

Zelgadis sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think Lina did the right thing back there. We're not going to do anyone any good if that pirate had killed us. This way we may still have a chance."

Lina looked up expectantly as Luke and Milina returned to the manse that the six of them shared, closing the room's door behind them. Luke put up his hands and waved, signalling a negative.

"There is no land in sight, other than... this display." Milina clarified, waving a hand at nearly a dozen other islands floating outside.

"Then I guess we have no choice but to stay here for the time being." Lina concluded.

The moment of silence was broken by the sound of music filtering in from outside. The group rushed to investigate, noticing that a white sheet had been raised over the palace entrance. Shiki's silhouette appeared behind it, along with those of his two closest partners. To Shiki's left stood Dr. Indigo, the crew's head researcher, a pot-bellied clown wearing a long, trailing lab coat over a pair of dark blue overalls. To the right was Scarlet, a large pink-furred gorilla who towered over even his captain. The three began a rather odd dance as they made their way down the stairs past the swimming pool in the largest chamber, snapping their fingers and bobbing their heads. Lina simply stood to the side, staring, perplexed, while Amelia pushed to the front of the group.

"What evil plot have you villains been concocting?" She accused, jabbing a finger at the trio.

"Huh?" Shiki looked puzzled. His destroyed clothing had been replaced after the battle, but his burnt hair could not be repaired. Layered bandages were visible over the top of his black robe.

"You three are celebrating the success of an evil plot!" Amelia denounced again.

"Is that any way for a crewmate to speak to her captain?" Shiki shrugged, then smiled and winked. "Though if you're eager, we can move faster."

The villainous trio struck a pose as Amelia sunk to the ground.

"Lord Shiki!" A formally dressed man shouted as he stepped into the chamber. Lina squinted as sunlight reflected off the man's metal faceplate directly into her eyes. "The other captains have-"

The subordinate captain was interrupted when Scarlet gestured with one massive paw in Milina's direction, beating his chest, grunting and puckering his lips.

"She's way outta your league you perverted ape!" Dr. Indigo slapped the Scarlet hard across the face. The gorilla stumbled, tipping into the new arrival, knocking him directly into the pool. The man immediately started struggling, apparently unable to swim.

"Hey hey." Shiki demanded of the drowning man. "If you have something to say to me then hurry up."

"No you idiot! He can't swim!" Dr. Indigo slapped Shiki as well, while gesturing at Scarlet to do something. Lina raised an eyebrow as the gorilla pulled the drowning man from the pool. Was this what happened when a Devil Fruit user was immersed? Eating one was a pretty risky proposition.

"Heh, well if you're eager to stretch your legs a bit." Shiki swept his eyes over Lina's companions, tenderly rubbing his cheek where Indigo's hand had made contact. "We'll have some action for tomorrow."

He turned, leading his subordinates out, twitching as the repeated sound of flatulence accompanied each of Dr. Indigo's footsteps.

"Can't you do a damn thing about that abominable noise Indigo!?" Shiki could be heard shouting from the other side of the closed door.

Lina glanced over at Luke, who looked as if he was reigning in some outburst, waiting until the pirates were out of earshot.

"Were we really beaten by these guys!?" He wailed.

* * *

...

* * *

That night, the band of water surrounding the central isle was crowded with ships. Allies and subdivisions of the Golden Lion Pirates had been summoned to Merveille in droves, congregating in bars and mess halls to socialize with their peers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, security was nonexistent; many of the crews present had never seen one another before and it was simply taken for granted that no one present could have made it to Merveille without the Golden Lion's direct assistance. An uninvited guest had found it quite easy to slip in.

"That's right!" One drunk pirate shouted. "Seems like Lord Shiki's picked up some new rookies."

"I heard they're crazy strong!" Another added. "The plan's moving ahead, we don't need to fool around in the weakest sea anymore."

"Oh, please, do tell." Xellos entreated. Laying his staff on the ground, the trickster priest politely refused an offer of drink and sat down to listen.

"Well, we haven't got much more than some rumors..." A pirate captain scratched his head before gulping down another mouthful. "But there's going to be a demonstration tomorrow."

"That's what I heard." Another pirate captain added. "And don't think you can come to the meeting in that... outfit. You're going to have to wear something formal."

"A dress code? Well, I understand." Xellos nodded. "I've only recently arrived and I'm afraid it is taking me an awfully long time to remember all the rules."

* * *

...

* * *

"Alright, today's the day!" Shiki announced, entering Lina's chambers alone. "We have entered the Grand Line, and we are going to demonstrate your power on some fools who dared to defy me. This will be our warning to the World Government. Once they see your power, they will have no choice but to surrender to me!"

"Attacking innocents is out of the question!" Amelia interjected. "We may be caught in your trap but justice will triumph in the end. While we may be imprisoned for now, some day a hero will arrive and end your evil schemes."

Lina sighed inwardly and stopped herself from interjecting, deciding that it was better to let Amelia get everything off her chest.

Shiki's grin stretched wide as Amelia finished her speech. He strode closer, the tips of his prosthetics clanging against the marble tiled floor.

"Your friends all got the message but it looks like we have a slow learner here." Shiki stopped down and brought his face close to Amelia's. "How about a direct demonstration? See with your own eyes just what justice is."

"The island we've arrived at hosts a slave auction." He declared knowingly, jabbing a finger at the floor. He paused to let the impact of that settle in before continuing. "And it is sponsored by none other than the government and Marines themselves."

"You're lying!" Amelia countered. "The Marines are the righteous protectors of the innocent, especially from villains like you."

"Villain? I'm hurt." Shiki replied sarcastically. "Compared to the true scum of this world, we 'villains' look positively pure by comparison. They talk about their 'era of peace', but it's because of vermin like them that the world's so screwed up."

Shiki grinned. "If you don't believe me, I'll give you a ship, and you can go have a look yourself."

Lina furrowed her brows. Any way she looked at it, Shiki probably wouldn't lie outright about such easily verifiable information. Which meant if they didn't go, they'd be allowing this den of misery to live on.

Sketchy records immediately following the War of Resurrection spoke of the practice of slavery, but for most of the era afterwards it had been universally abolished by every nation on the Saillune Peninsula. Lina grimaced at the thought, and she could tell from a glance that her companions felt similarly.

Shiki pushed himself from the floor with a grunt, standing back up to his full height and casting his shadow over Lina's companions.

"Go on!" He roared. "See for yourself what atrocities the so-called purveyors of law and justice turn a blind eye to. I'll have my subordinates Dozle and Tomie follow to ensure your safety."

_More like ensure that we don't escape,_ Lina thought. In either case, even if they tried, the Merveille islands were hovering overhead; Raywing was too draining for long distance flight; they wouldn't get very far. Lina resolved to make no half-hearted escape attempts, if it failed then Shiki might not give them another chance. It had to be all or nothing.

"What will do baby girl?" Shiki continued, "Kill the culprits and take their treasure? Free the slaves from their shackles? Wipe this stain from the sea with your dragon... thing? Anything you take will be yours and anything you want to do to them I'll allow. Show the world what your justice is!"

* * *

...

* * *

The masked man who had almost drowned in the pool just a day ago was already waiting on the ship Shiki gave. Now dressed in a loose-fitting robe, with baggy pants almost covering a pair of combat boots, he introduced himself as Dozle and gave Lina's companions a toothy grin. Three large metal contraptions were strapped to his back, presumably weapons of some sort, since they were expecting resistance from the slavers.

A short, heavyset woman, whom Lina presumed to be Tomie, arrived late to the dock. Unlike Dozle, she kept to herself and said nothing. Lina's eyes were immediately drawn to the word "Love", tattooed in large letters on her forehead. She brandished an unusual weapon as well, a massive metal pipe that caused the deck to creak under its weight.

"We're ready to go Lord Shiki!" Dozle turned to a corner and announced. Lina craned her head to see who he was speaking to and blanched when she noticed the enormous snail sitting on a crate there, its spiraling shell as large as a person's head.

"Ahhh!" Lina shrieked, jumping into Gourry's arms when the snail spoke back with Shiki's voice, made even more unnerving by the smug grin that it wore on its slimy face.

"Alright! Off you go!" The snail announced as the ship lurched and rose over the water's surface. It soared over the outer edge of the island, passing over the water's edge, then plunged down into the clouds below. Now was Gourry's turn to be frightened, as the only member of the party who couldn't fly if something went wrong. With a whimper, he latched onto Lina's arm for safety.

The rate of descent slowed as the last cloud layer flew past, and Gourry let out a breath that he had been holding. On the placid sea below, a ring-shaped island came into view; a band of cliffs surrounding a bay. A dozen ships were anchored within the walls, mostly pirates or mercenaries from appearances, but there were a few civilian vessels sitting beside them as well. Their own ship drifted forward, aiming for the center of the ring.

In a world of sailing ships, the ability to maintain this sort of aerial fleet was definitely a huge advantage.

Lina sighed and massaged her temples. Guys like this were always pursuing something ridiculous and pointless, like world domination. And now she and her friends were caught up in it.

"Hey uh... are those your weapons?" Gourry struck up conversation with Dozle. He pointed at the three objects that hung from the pirate's back.

"Oh, these?" Dozle replied, pulling one great slab of metal from his back. With a flick of the wrist the device unfolded and extended, forming an enormous cleaver sixteen feet long. "Do you like them?" He asked, tapping the other two. "I wish we'd fall a little faster. I can't wait!"

Lina raised an eyebrow at Dozle's display, using this chance to take stock of Shiki's assets. The pirate's weapons were way oversized and obviously very unwieldy; if it came to a fight, she was sure he wouldn't be able to compete with Gourry's speed. Of course, there was still the incident with the pool, meaning he still had a Devil Fruit power to fall back on.

Lina glanced over at Tomie, who had taken up a position in a corner, and still didn't look like she had anything to say.

"We're here." Milina announced. Walls of stone rose up around the ship and its hull slammed into the ocean surface with a dull roar. A wave raised by the impact crashed into the sides of the inlet where a rickety walkway provided footing for disembarking passengers. A single cave, strung with electric lighting and hastily decorated with some carpets and drapings, lead to unseen chambers within the earthen walls.

Dozle removed a second weapon and extended it with a shake. Already, a clamor was being raised from the docked ships in response to their sudden arrival.

"Lord Shiki said you're in charge of this." He grinned. "What do you want us to do?"

Sharp cracks of gunfire echoed across the inlet, forcing Lina to dive for cover before she could give any orders. Lead balls embedded themselves into the deck and masts, filling the air with wood fragments. Rising to a sitting position, Lina decided that she would prepare a Windy Shield. She was halfway through the incantation when Zelgadis interrupted.

"Fireball!" Zelgadis called. From the corner of her eye, Lina could see that a ship had been immolated, its passengers leaping into the water like terrified rats. A moment later the flames consumed the ship's ammunition stores, cracking the vessel in half in a thunderous blast.

"Sorry, but weapons like that won't even scratch me." Zelgadis said.

"Go Zel!" Lina gave him an approving thumbs up. For all the hate Zelgadis professed to hold for his chimerism, it had saved his life countless times during their previous adventures.

"Damn, we need to get closer." Dozle said, oversized cleavers raised over his body like shields. Tomie had done likewise, deflecting the fusillade with her strange pipe weapon. Several pirate ships pulled up anchors and deployed oars. If they were permitted to turn, they would be able to bring their broadside cannons to bear.

"I can handle that." Lina thrust her hands forward, launching a sphere of compressed air right into their ship's sails. The mast creaked as the sails expanded to their limits, dragging the ship forward.

"Try not to use any fire this time!" Luke pointed an accusing finger at Lina, drawing his sword and preparing to board. "You're going to get us killed if another one of those ships lights up."

"Hey! Don't act like that time on the mountain was all my fault!" Lina gave Luke a venomous glare.

"What're you talking about? It was all your fault!" Luke shot back with a look of equal malice.

"How about the two of you put things off until later." Milina said under her breath, shaking her head in annoyance. "Use ice spells to seal off the cannons."

The deck shook slightly as Dozle joined the fray, launching himself onto an adjacent ship with a whooping war cry, hewing through foes with his enormous cleavers. Tomie boarded another, swinging her metal pipe like a bludgeon.

"So Lina, should we be going too?" Gourry asked hesitantly.

"Well of course!" Lina replied, "There are crooks who need to be punished later," she pointed upward, "and those that need punishing now."

* * *

...

* * *

"Lord Shiki!" Dr. Indigo shouted as he stumbled into the Golden Lion's throne room, the noise emitted by his shoes causing his captain to wince with every step. The scientist began to gesticulate wildly, punching the air and waving his arms.

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Shiki barked impatiently.

"Rogan's ship just arrived!" Dr. Indigo said. "I think you should listen to what they're saying!"

"So you can talk after all?!" Shiki exclaimed with a dumbfounded expression, which tightened into a snarl when a group of men stumbled in after Indigo.

"Rogan, you had better have a good explanation for this." Shiki hissed at the lead man. Of the thirty two original members of Rogan's crew, eighteen dazed survivors were all that were left. Shiki gestured with a hand, lifting their ship into view, which didn't improve his mood at all. Once a proud pirate vessel, Rogan's ship was now marred by burns, its sides practically falling apart. One of its masts had been cut, having crushed the bow when it fell. Had the ship not been airborne during its entire journey it would likely have been sunk by one of the many dangers on the blue sea.

"Our deepest apologies Lord Shiki." The captain pleaded. "We heard the ringing of a bell in the sky and decided to investigate. But-"

"A Sky Island?" Shiki growled, idly scratching his beard. "You were beaten by the inhabitants of a Sky Island?"

"Y-yes we were Lord Shiki." The captain stammered. "We found the source of the noise, a golden bell. I ordered the men to take it and we were attacked then. The weapons their fighters used, we couldn't beat them with just our crew."

"So you came back empty-handed." Shiki's rumbled.

"W-wait Lord Shiki!" The captain lowered his head to the ground. "We couldn't take the gold but we brought back some information about them! We took a good look at the bell before we retreated. There was definitely a Poneglyph embedded in its side!"

An leering grin stretched across Shiki's face. Over two decades ago, Gol D. Roger had allegedly discovered the location of some sort of ancient weapon by studying these artifacts. Shiki had offered him an alliance then, the Pirate King's refusal leading to the battle known as the Edd War.

A surge of elation filled the Golden Lion. Though the Pirate King had dealt him a devastating defeat then, it was he who would witness the coming of a new era. A new era that he would bring into fruition.

Shiki roared with laughter at his recent strokes of good luck. "Good work Rogan." He congratulated, prompting the dazed and cowering captain to look up. "We'll leave as soon as possible. Let's finish this demonstration."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina turned from the battle as the communication snail suddenly called out, emitting a constant, repetitive buzzing sound. The engagement was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Most of the slavers had been disposed of, and layers of ice now coated the portholes and rudders of the enemy ships, reducing them to useless drifting hulks. The will to fight had all but evaporated from the last few holdouts.

"You have to pick the Communicator Snail up!" Dozle called back. "Lord Shiki has a message for us."

Lina's face blanched at the prospect of getting any closer to that disgusting creature, no matter how useful it was. "You do it Amelia." She suggested.

"Buu~t..." Amelia hesitated, "What should I say?"

"You don't have to say anything, just pick it up." Lina barked.

"Like this?" Amelia lifted the entire snail off the barrel it was resting on. The creature continued to buzz.

"No, you probably have to take that thing off its back." Lina pointed, wincing and averting her eyes from the disgusting mollusc.

"Uah?!" The snail blurted out immediately in Shiki's voice as its receiver was removed, "Was there a problem? Well anyway, hurry it up down there! We have things that need doing."

"Looks like I'm going to have to cut loose!" Dozle roared upon hearing the order. His hair began to move of its own accord, lengthening a forest of brown tendrils that surged across the deck. Spear-tipped conglomerations of hair shot out, impaling the fleeing pirates and dumping their bodies into the sea. So that was it.

Lina looked over at Tomie, who had plunged one end her pipe into the side of a ship. She inhaled through the other, and the deck splintered and compressed, drawn into the pipe by her incredible lung power.

Taking aim at a pirate vessel attempting to escape the bay, Tomie blew out, and in a blur of motion the ship's hull was shattered by her recycled missile. Lina narrowed her eyes. The projectile, still intact despite the force of the collision, was composed of the the wood scraps ripped from Tomie's platform, held together in a single solid mass by thick strands of webbing.

The braggart within Lina wanted to say that the subduing of the remaining slavers was a dramatic affair, a harrowing battle that would be told for years to come. But that would have been a lie. The slavers within the hollow cliffs put up about as much resistance as a wet noodle. Lina herself had stood back, allowing Shiki's two crewmates to do most of the work.

Screams echoed from deeper within as Dozle disposed of the remaining guards with his animate hair. For her part, Tomie had lost what little enthusiasm she had for this trip and had vanished into the hold of one of the ships outside.

Lina made a face as she walked through the auction room, stepping gingerly around the maimed bodies of the guards. A pedestal at the center was presumably where slaves were stood, like livestock, for the bidders to inspect. A doorframe at the back lead to a hallway further in. Lina generated a Light spell and stepped over the smashed remains of the door.

"Is this what the World Government allows?" Milina was the first to speak as they stared down the dank hallway. Rows of cages lined one wall, each filled with one or more shackled prisoners. Some begged pitifully for release, others were so shattered that they just stared blankly, not even knowing what freedom was anymore. Some were just children. Sitting at the other end of the corridor, Dozle nodded his head.

"What?!" Amelia cried, "So even the government is filled with bad guys?"

With a click, one of the cage locks released itself and fell off.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Lina encouraged. "I know they don't teach you this spell at the sorcerer's guild, but it's really pretty simple. Let's get going!"

* * *

...

* * *

"Leave them and take the ships." Tomie said, her voice a harsh buzz that grated on Lina's ears. These were the first words she spoke during the entire venture and this was what she chose to spend them on.

"We can't just leave them here!" Dozle roared. "They'll be recaptured!"

"Not our problem." Tomie droned.

The iron-masked pirate looked at Lina and her companions with pleading, almost piteous eyes. That's right, Shiki had said that Lina was in charge of the operation.

"Hmm, looks like pirates hang around all sorts of people." Lina said with a smile. Behind her, a throng of former slaves followed, waiting for her response.

"Give them the least damaged ships." She ordered. "And have Shiki take us up, but not all the way; there's one last thing I want to do here."

* * *

...

* * *

"I think they should be far enough." Zelgadis said, leaning over the railing their ship. He took a moment to wipe away the water droplets deposited on his binoculars by some passing clouds. A pair of mismatched civilian vessels were visible in the distance, points of brown on the sapphire sea.

"Do it Miss Lina!" Amelia shouted, hands balled into fists. "Strike them down with the power of justice!"

"Alright!" Lina announced, pointing her hands downward. Dozle watched, open-mouthed as Lina spoke the words and gathered her power. Even Tomie could not help but stare, eyes wide.

"Dragon Slave!"

With a volcanic thunder the ring-shaped island was swallowed by the resulting blast. Lina watched as a vapor dome expanded upward and fell, leaving only the smooth ocean surface where an island once was. The communication snail roared with Shiki's coarse laughter.

* * *

...

* * *

The next morning Shiki returned again to Lina's residence, with a rolled up paper clutched in one hand.

"Have you had a look at this yet, baby girl?" Shiki threw down the morning's newspaper. Lina reluctantly peeled her eyes off the steering wheel attached to her visitor's head and looked down at the front page. Her thoughts were tossed aside when she noticed the headline article, detailing the events of the previous day. The attack on an 'employment office', the destruction of the island and a sizable bounty for the "newest recruit of the Golden Lion Pirates", complete with a picture.

'Pink Sorceress' Lina Inverse: 65,000,000 Belis

"Wait a minute!" Lina turned to Shiki. "You had us do that to get me a bounty?!"

"Baby girl." Shiki reassured. "I told you to do whatever you wanted, and you did. That's all. You showed them your justice, and this is what the World Government does. That's why you're a member of my crew."

Shiki's clanking footsteps faded into the distance, leaving Lina standing alone, quivering with rage. She'd been maneuvered into a difficult decision, and she had played into Shiki's hand.

A thought occurred to her then. It was even possible that Shiki had spread the information himself. The Marines were able to recognize a six million bounty on sight; how far would they go to capture one almost eleven times as large? Lina realized then that Merveille had become both a cage and a shelter.

Simmering thoughts of rebellion bubbled again to the surface. The longer they stayed, the more the opportunities the Golden Lion would have to cement their ties. But fighting against him on his home terrain was a great risk. Dozle and Tomie had shown their stuff; their skills were pretty unusual, but undeniably effective. Who knew how many other fighters Shiki could call up and whether he would be forgiving enough to spare them a second time.

The initial storm of rage subsided, and Lina found herself stifling a laugh at her own misfortune. Even when she was thrown into another world, her bad reputation was stuck to her like glue.

"Oh my, you seem to have gotten into quite a lot of trouble this time Lina!" A voice teased. "But, if it's not too much of a bother of course, I could lend you a hand."

"Xellos!" Lina snarled through clenched teeth. Behind her the Mazoku priest stood, smiling brightly. "Where were you before we ended up here?! What were you doing when we all fought that steering-wheel freak?!"

"Oh, come now Lina." Xellos replied. "Let us not dwell on the sad past. From what I have gathered, it seems Captain Shiki is planning some sort of invasion soon. Within a few days, definitely. Don't you think that would be a good time to break free?"

"Yeah, but that guy beat all of us." Lina said. "Now we know his powers but..."

"But his wounds on him during your last battle have yet to heal." Xellos pointed out. "And just as a precaution, I have a spell to teach you. A gift, if you will, to apologize for my regrettable absence."

"Oh," Xellos added, raising a finger to his lips. "And as for me being here, I'm sure you can understand why that is a secret."

* * *

...

* * *

"Hehe, you win." Dozle said, touching a finger to a mark etched onto his faceplate. It was still hot. He folded his cleavers and Gourry sheathed his sword.

"You're pretty good with those things even though they're so big." Gourry complemented.

"You move fast." Dozle replied, "I think you could have ended it sooner."

"So, if you don't mind me asking," Gourry began. "Lina and Amelia are always saying how all pirates are really bad people. But you're not such a bad guy, I think."

"I mean if you hadn't argued for those poor people down there, who knows what Lina would've done." He said.


	5. Chapter 5 - All In

**Chapter 5: All In**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

It was the next day, and Zelgadis was out on his own on the central Merveille island. Pirates passed him here and there as he walked through the snow, and Zelgadis pointedly ignored them on his way to his destination.

Something was definitely happening. Merveille had stopped beneath a prominent cloud layer, and Shiki had let them know that there was going to be a meeting later, attended by representatives from all his subordinate crews. Lina was egging the ideal of using this as their opportunity to escape, and if that was the plan, then it would do them well to conduct some reconnaissance now.

Zelgadis pushed open the door to one of the central palace's pavilions. He paused as he noted the presence of Shiki's clown scientist, who greeted him with a wave, then returned to his work brewing some sort of lime green liquid. Stacked on shelves were rows upon rows of that very same liquid, stored in flasks and labeled with the word 'evolution'.

"Curious?" Indigo said, glancing up from his table.

"Sure. What does this 'evolution' label mean?" Zelgadis asked, tapping a finger to one flask.

"Oh, well since you're a part of the crew I guess I can tell you my secret." Indigo said. "When I discovered it, this island had lots of evolved species of plants and animals. And this is all thanks to a plant called IQ. The plant stimulates their brain and makes them adapt to their environment."

Holding a flask of liquid up to the light, Dr. Indigo continued. "And after years of research, we were able to extract a drug from the IQ plants. I call it Serum IQ, or SIQ! So it's simple really. So we have hunters go out and inject animals with the serum and it makes them even stronger and more aggressive! That's why this place is swarming with these creatures!"

"So that's what that giant octopus was." Zelgadis mused. "Interesting. What effect does this drug have on humans?"

"No effect! It doesn't do anything to humans." The scientist shrugged.

"Oh well, then I guess it doesn't really have anything to do with me." Zelgadis turned to leave.

"Sorry to disappoint you!" Dr. Indigo waved after him.

* * *

...

* * *

Shiki raised a hand to cover a yawn and watched the monitor before him with a half-lidded gaze. They had found the sky island that Rogan had encountered, and a scouting force was on its way.

Shiki didn't really believe that the sky islanders would be able to stand up to his pirate armada, but he'd learned in his long years of pirating that discretion was the better part of valor. Three sacrificial ships, each bearing the flag of the Golden Lion Pirates, had been sent out to provoke the Sky Island's defenders. Once battle was joined, a Visual Communicator Snail placed on each ship would record the battle. Merveille itself hovered just beneath the cloud layers, close enough to receive the images. Shiki noted the presence of a Marine base to the east; G-8 if he was remembering correctly. Though they were in no position to make any sort of move against him now, he would have to act quickly. There could be trouble if they called in reinforcements from Marineford.

A landmass was visible on the display screen, floating on the white cloud sea. While Seastone could form sea or even island clouds when ejected into the upper atmosphere and mixed with water vapor, such formations supported little plant life. Thus, soil was a precious commodity in the sky and it was no wonder the natives defended this island so fiercely. Shiki smiled at the irony; his Float-Float Fruit could raise land into the sky whenever he pleased.

The image shook as the transmitting snail was rattled by cannonfire. A group of men approached from the direction of the island, gliding on the surface of the white sea. Weaving between a barrage of cannonballs, the leader of the attackers launched himself into the air and hefted a cannon over his shoulder. A torrent of blue flame poured from the weapon's barrel, and the transmission from the leading ship was cut.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina fidgeted in her allotted space as she looked around. Every other pirate present at Shiki's war council was dressed in matching dark suits that starkly contrasted with her colorful adventuring garb. Nonetheless, Shiki had allowed her to come dressed as she was. He had even given permission for Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis to sit at the center with the captains rather than stand at the side as subordinates traditionally did.

"An exception for your first official meeting." Shiki had said. Lina resolved to make it their last.

The topic of the meeting was the pending invasion of the sky island. Shiki related some experiences with sky islands in the past, whose inhabitants used special shells called dials to imitate the blue sea's technology. This particular island displayed a great variety of weaponry, as if it had been embroiled in conflict for generations.

"Your help won't be needed, baby girl." Shiki addressed Lina. "I want that island captured. Even better if we can use their dials to strengthen our own forces."

"I want to go anyway." Lina replied. "Your islands are all well and good, but I'm getting bored just sitting around here all the time. If you want that one so much, I won't use the Dragon Slave."

Shiki gave a satisfied grunt before scanning over Lina's group again.

"There were six of you weren't there?" He asked. "The other two didn't want to come?"

* * *

...

* * *

Luke raised an eyebrow as he regarded the opaque cloud layer above him, and pressed the edge of his Raywing sphere against it. The edge of the cloud yielded rather than dispersing. It was a liquid, not quite water, but not exactly a normal cloud either.

"Don't get distracted. Our success is crucial." Milina said from beside him. She maneuvered herself closer, pressing her own wind globe against his. The howl of rushing wind rose and died down as the two spells merged and Milina relinquished control. With a moment's concentration Luke directed the spell up and plunged in.

The interior of the cloud was a different world. The two of them could see strange beasts swimming through the mist; flattened fish with scales like feathers, cephalopods resembling serenely drifting balloons and a colossal lamprey that could swallow a man whole. Beads of sweat rolled down Luke's forehead and he noticed that he was breathing hard; as expected, forcing the spell to plow through this strange cloud took almost as much effort as moving through water.

At last the Raywing bubble burst through the mist, expanding slightly as it touched open air. Clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, rolling languidly by like waves on a tranquil seashore. The landmass that the natives had attacked from was nowhere to be seen.

"There are too many clouds." Luke gasped. "How the hell is this possible?"

"An ocean in the sky?" Milina said, her voice betraying the slightest hint of amazement. She glanced at another cloud layer above them. "It seems we're still in the middle of the cloud." She suggested. "The recording of the battle showed a clear sky."

Luke stared into the distance where Milina had indicated. Enough light filtered into this realm to suffuse it with a dull, uniform radiance, broken by a single bright pinpoint in the distance. Maybe it was the way up, or at least something to stand on; another plunge through a cloud sea would exhaust them both.

"I'll take control." Milina offered, having followed Luke's gaze. Milina began to direct the spell forward and Luke allowed his concentration to lapse.

The irregular speck in distance rapidly grew into a shaft of light as the two approached. Its origin, a gaping hole in the cloud ceiling, and beyond it, the soft blue of the open sky.

"Are you tired Milina?" Luke turned to his partner, the vague aches of magic capacity exhaustion already dying down. "If you are, I can take us up."

"You should be more concerned about yourself." Milina replied. "But if we're traveling through open air, we can make do with Levitation."

* * *

...

* * *

"So what about all these monsters you're raising?" Lina asked. "Are you going to use them too?"

"Of course!" Shiki replied. "They're all part of my plan for taking over the world. My men are already out there, gathering the animals onto one island. Then I can simply drop the them beside the sky islanders, inject them with the serum and let them rip the place apart! We don't need to do anything more than secure the poneglyph."

Sitting behind Lina, Amelia began to tremble visibly.

"And what's more!" Dr. Indigo stood up. "Without regular injections of SIQ, the animals lose their evolved fighting instincts! Then we can just wait and gather them back up!"

"Take over the world?!" Amelia erupted, leaping to her feet and pointing at Shiki. "Not only do you raise monsters and attack innocents but you want to take over the world?! Fiendish pirate, heaven itself holds no mercy for you! Prepare yourself, for the judgement of justice is upon you!"

The orange glow of a fireball flashed in Amelia's palm. Several pirate captains drew weapons but their reactions were too slow. Eyes locked onto Shiki, Amelia drew back her hand to throw.

"Fire-" she began.

A sudden blow to the back of the head sent Amelia sprawling, the fireball fizzling out in her hand. Attention shifted to Lina, who stood over the fallen princess, fist raised.

"Hehe, uh sorry about that! Guess that joke went a little too far right guys?" Lina nervously reassured the pirates.

All eyes moved now to Golden Lion, to see what his reaction was going to be to this rebellion.

"What's going on?" Shiki asked, blinking in surprise.

* * *

...

* * *

"Conis! Heso!" Pagaya waved to his daughter. His brown antenna-shaped hair and matching beard swayed in the breeze as he rode his waver over the surface of the white-white sea. Strapped to his back was a basket filled with the day's catch. The destruction of Angel Island and Heaven's gate left them with no easy way to descend to the white sea. In addition, the gaping hole presented a public menace. Though he had no skill in quarrying or shaping the cloud material that was being used to repair the damage, Pagaya was a proud citizen of Skypeia. He would contribute by feeding the workers with his harvest.

"Yes, heso, father!" Conis waved back from the edge of the chasm. She quickly directed the workers nearby to move away.

Conis took a small step to the side as Pagaya drove his waver onto the solid island cloud, causing the machine to flip and dump him face-down onto the ground.

"Is everyone alright?" Pagaya asked, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Speak for yourself." Several men replied simultaneously. Conis smiled; her father was always concerned for everyone else's safety first.

Conis bit her lower lip, turning her thoughts turned to recent events. Just a few hours after the Straw Hat Pirates had left from Cloud End two weeks ago, a group of pirates had attacked from the sky. And just yesterday, Skypeia came under attack again, this time by three ships bearing the same flag as the first. Though the reformed God's Guards had easily disposed of both incursions, Conis could not shake the uneasy feeling that something bigger was on the horizon. And indeed, all over Skypeia, the carefree peace that had followed Enel's defeat was replaced with worry.

"Intruders! Call the guards!" Someone shouted from within the hole, jolting Conis from her thoughts. Idle chatter was quickly replaced by cries of alarm. Workers scrambled up from the ladders hanging over the perimeter of the hole and piled into boats. Only a few guards were in the area, former members of the White Berets who once kept order on Angel Island.

"Prepare to fight if they're hostile." Captain McKinley commanded, drawing a bow from his light blue cloak. "We have to hold them off until God's Guards arrive."

Conis leaned over the railing to have a look at the intruders. She could tell that the two arrivals from below were a man and a woman, drifting through the air somehow without any visible propulsion. Her eyes drifted from the woman's pale white hair to the man's eyes even as he stared back up. She bit her lip again as she felt a wave of malevolent pressure radiate from his stark red pupils.

* * *

...

* * *

"Look Milina, an angel!" Luke pointed at a young woman who was leaning over the edge of the hole, even as the remaining workers scrambled to get out. And indeed, every person present seemed to have small feathered wings sprouting from their upper backs.

"Oh, but wait! Don't get me wrong Milina. You're still the only one for me." He added quickly.

To Luke's happy surprise, Milina gave no response. Instead, she stared ahead at the hole's border. Luke followed her gaze and noticed that a number of white-hatted men had appeared, each pointing a bow at the two of them. Luke's hand moved toward his sword. After the disastrous fight with Shiki, he had stored his most powerful spell within his weapon, and was as ready for a fight as he'd ever be.

"Don't." Milina grasped Luke's fingers, causing blood to rush to his face. "We can't afford to fight them. No matter what."

"State your purpose!" One of the men shouted down.

"How are you flying through the sky? Are you ability users?" Another added.

"We want to speak with your leader about a coming threat." Milina replied. "What do we have to do?"

"You want an audience with God?" A blue-coated man asked.

"Did he say god?" Luke mumbled. "Is there really a god here?"

* * *

"Dismissed!" Shiki concluded and the assembled captains stood up to leave. Lina beckoned for her group to stand as well, only noticing then that Gourry had fallen asleep and was leaning on a pillar behind them.

Taking a slight running start, Lina struck the side of Gourry's face with her boot, sending him tumbling onto his back. "Damnit Gourry! Don't go to sleep!"

"One more thing before you go, baby girl!" Shiki called to Lina specifically. "You like gold don't you?"

"What?" Lina turned to the Golden Lion even as the other captains filed out.

"There's a story from long ago about a lost city of gold somewhere around here." Shiki explained. "Even I thought it was just a rumor but the story about the bell confirms it. This sky island may hold the legendary city of gold."

"Just remember," Shiki finished. "There's always something you'd want from your captain."

* * *

"You're the Gan Fall? The 'god'?" Luke asked the old man seated before him. Beside him, Milina furrowed her brow at her partner's lack of tact. Though the man was old, there was not a hint of the feebleness that often came with age.

Well, the old man's shirt and shorts were a little casual for someone with such a grand title.

Milina looked around uneasily. The White Berets who had arrested them were joined by a darker-skinned man, muscular and covered by tribal tattoos. Milina recognized the cannon that he held over one shoulder as the weapon that had defeated Shiki's invasion force. There was no room for mistakes and she was actually relieved that their weapons had been confiscated.

"Well, what were you expecting then young man? And if you don't mind my asking, why have you come to Upper Yard?" Gan Fall replied to Luke's question.

Luke scratched his chin. "A god should be like, a really huge dragon I guess." He said at last.

The absurdity of Luke's answer seemed to defuse some of the tension, and the guards relaxed their stances. A few of them even covered their mouths, holding back their laughter.

"Wiper, be at ease." Gan Fall waved to the darker-skinned man. With a nod, Wiper lowered his weapon and leaned it against a wall before raising a cigarette to his mouth with his free hand.

"We wanted to speak with you about the pirates that have been attacking your island recently." Milina began. "What happened this morning is just the start of it. Some of our friends are being forced to work with them, so we've seen firsthand that these pirates will stop at nothing to get what they want."

She closed her eyes. "We never intended to involve you in this, but we need your help if we're to come out of this alive."

* * *

Shiki grunted in annoyance as a subordinate delivered his report on the G-8 Marine base.

"How many ships in total?" He asked quickly.

"Four battleships have arrived." The man replied. "We have confirmed the presence of Vice Admirals Momonga and Strawberry, in addition to Vice Admiral Jonathan who is known to preside over that base. And Admiral Aoki-"

A gunshot rang out and the messenger collapsed, clutching a bloody knee.

"Don't go spouting off some random crap that I didn't ask for." Shiki snarled.

* * *

Gan Fall listened as the young woman before him listed off what she knew of the invaders' assets, and a gulp of nervous saliva inched its way down his throat.

"He commands an armada of over fifty ships and crews." Milina described. "The loss of those three will be inconsequential to the coming conflict. They were sent out, intentionally, to get a read on your abilities."

Wiper and Gan Fall exchanged glances. A fleet of fifty ships. Such a force was unthinkable by the standards of sky island warfare. But, having befriended the late Pirate King during his passage through Skypeia, Gan Fall knew that such things existed on the blue sea.

"In addition." Milina continued. "Shiki maintains a number of monsters on his islands, which he will undoubtedly deploy against you."

* * *

"The animals are ready Indigo. Are you going to have enough of that stuff?" Shiki asked.

"Yes Lord Shiki!" Indigo said without looking up from his work. "We already have enough of the IQ plant here in the lab. I will definitely have enough SIQ ready by..."

* * *

"Then we only have until..." Gan Fall began.

"Tomorrow." Milina said.

* * *

"...tomorrow." Indigo finished.

* * *

...

* * *

The morning mist filled the skies, dampening the still-glowing embers of the previous night's fires. A thin layer of clouds diffused the brightly glowing disk of the sun to a pale white blur. Vessels of all sizes lined the shores of Upper Yard, sheltered within the shadows of the island's great trees.

"Escape to Clouds End!" A White Beret encouraged the fleeing civilians. "Don't take more than you can carry! Your life is more important!"

"Grab your bags and get on the boats." A father said to his family, kissing the crown of his wife's head. "I'll see you when this is over."

"Do as God said!" Someone shouted from within the crowd.

"This boat's full! Push off!" A militia member commanded.

Wiper stood alone on the shoreline, staring into the distance as the sun's heat began to erode at the fog. He curled his toes, feeling the soil beneath his feet, the precious Vearth that had been the cause of four hundred years of warfare. With their homeland returned to them, the Shandians were no longer guerillas but sentinels; Wiper resolved to be an indestructible one.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts that Wiper did not notice the little girl that had appeared behind him until she took a seat on a protruding root. The girl adjusted her fur cap, allowing a lock of short brown hair to dangle over her face.

"What is it Aisa?" Wiper asked.

"We just won our home back after 400 years." Aisa said. "Why do we have to leave it again?"

"We are not leaving." Wiper reassured her. "We swore that the light of Shandora would never again be extinguished and we intend to fulfill that promise. In this world, peace has to be earned."

The curtain of fog drew away, uncovering the breathtaking sight arrayed before them. The Merveille archipelago hung in the sky, each island casting its enormous shadow on the sea of clouds below.

With the enemy before them, the militia members pushed the evacuation forward with renewed urgency. Wiper stared, open-mouthed, at this overwhelming display of power. The central island alone had to be several times larger than Upper Yard.

"I can hear them Wiper..." Aisa's whimpered, her breaths reduced to shallow gasps. "They're coming..."

* * *

...

* * *

"Looks like everything we need has been gathered." Shiki said. Beside him, Dr. Indigo poured the last drops of sake into a pair of traditional dishes. Shiki's personalized Communicator Snail, sporting a wild mane of golden hair modeled after that of its owner, eyed the clear liquid with mild curiosity.

A large forested island had been chosen to transport the augmented animals. With a casual hand motion Shiki dropped the landmass onto the cloud sea and watched as a ship filled with hunters approached. Once the majority of the beasts had been given their doses, the island would be moved next to the its target, and the drug-crazed monsters allowed to run wild. Just thinking about his plan brought a smile to Shiki's face, and he pulled the receiver of his communicator snail to his mouth.

"At last, my subordinates!" Shiki declared, his words echoing on the decks of every ship in his golden armada, "At long last, we depart for this sky island. And what a tragic island it is. No one in the world will know of its passing, no one will mourn its destruction. Once you've secured the Poneglyph, the rest is yours to do with what you wish. And with this victory, the World Government shall soon be brought to its knees. Let us toast the victory-to-come!"

Smiling, Shiki reached for his celebratory sake dish, but a slight tremor caused it to slide just out of reach. Shiki quickly glanced around but nothing seemed to be amiss. Impatiently, he snatched up the plate, raising it to his lips and preparing to take a sip. Again the palace quaked, causing the alcohol to spill onto Shiki's face and clothing. A growl issued from the Golden Lion's lips as he looked down at his drenched robe, the alcohol stinging as it trickled into his still lingering wounds. The back door of the palace creaked open and a crew member stumbled in, a dart gun in his hand.

"You had better be here to tell me what the hell is going on!" Shiki snapped.

"I'm sorry Lord Shiki." The other man explained. "The SIQ lab has been destroyed. It was just suddenly engulfed by flames and there was nothing we could do."

Shiki thought of the guerrillas defending the sky island. They had been able to glide on the surface of the cloud sea and their leader used a cannon that fired blue flames. It was possible that they would be able to make their way onto Merveille. But how did they know about the importance of SIQ?

A flash of blue erupted from the white cloud sea, and Shiki could see that one of the the SIQ delivery ships had been obliterated as well. Its charred remains sank into sea of clouds, sending up a plume of ash-tinged vapor. A tiny figure darted across the white backdrop, heading toward the island in the distance.

Shiki's initial rage condensed into a cold fury as the pieces fell into place. There were traitors within his midst. Their insistence on participating, the absence of two from the meeting, it made sense now.

"Tomie!" Shiki barked into the Communicator Snail. "Get to the SIQ lab and see what you can find. You too Indigo. All ships, commence attack now!"

"Yes Lord Shiki!" Dr. Indigo gave an enthusiastic salute. "What will you be doing?"

"I've got an idea who's behind all this." Shiki said. A grin stretched across his face as he stood up. "And I want to see it with my own eyes."

* * *

...

* * *

Luke kicked a rock into the cloud-water river beside him and stood up as the roar of an explosion reached his ears. Though he was deep in the forest, a rising column of smoke was clearly visible through the canopy. Luke paused and thought back to what he'd been told the night before.

* * *

_"Once Lina destroys the first ship you should find a way to signal your position to her. You will need to be together to have a chance of winning." Lina's purple-haired associate said. He paused to remember the details, then revealed to Luke and Milina the plan given out at Shiki's war council._

_"You know, Lina once said that you're a Mazoku." Luke commented, more out of curiosity than malice. "What's your angle? How do I know you aren't trying to screw us over?"_

_"Oh, come now." Xellos reassured. "It's almost like you think of me as some sort of unwanted insect. Now that we're all stuck here together, logically it would be in my interests to help the people I know, right?"_

_Luke evinced no response, and satisfied that everything was in order, Xellos vanished as quickly as he had arrived._

* * *

"Here goes." Luke mumbled to himself, hoping the smoke was a sign that things had gone right. "Light."

Its duration compressed to a split-second, the Light spell manifested as a blinding flash, visible over the forest canopy. Luke sat back down on a protruding root and hoped that Lina would be the first to see it.

Soon, a swell rose from the surface of the river before the cloud-water drew away, revealing Lina and Gourry in a Raywing shell. Noticing Luke sitting nearby, Lina drifted over land and canceled the spell, landing gracefully on the riverbank. Gourry flailed in the air for a moment, unprepared for the sudden release, and landed flat onto his back.

"Hey Lina, could you give me a warning next time?" Gourry complained.

"Yeah, whatever Gourry." Lina said. She bent down and swished a hand in the cloud-water of the river. "Is this stuff cloud or water?" She asked no one in particular, "Flying through it was really hard."

"Hm?" Lina looked around again. "Where's Milina?" She asked. "Did she lose interest in you and run off?"

"Why would you say that?!" Luke snapped, feeling his face flushing with heat. "You should know by now that the bonds of love and trust between Milina and I are as strong as the rope that you would climb mountains with!"

Lina looked unimpressed. "A mountain climbing rope isn't that much stronger than a regular rope, is it? And a relationship of mutual trust is a pretty broad category."

"Shut up! Milina's here, just she's working with the locals."

"Okay, okay." Lina conceded. "Now isn't the time to be teasing you."

"I agree. You have bigger problems to worry about." Shiki's voice boomed from above.

* * *

...

* * *

"The great warrior Calgara once said, 'Light the fire of Shandora.'" Wiper addressed his fellow warriors, who sat in a circle within his teepee. Not one of them had packed their belongings in the evacuation.

"We have always and will always follow these words. It doesn't matter who our opponents are. If we go to our deaths, then so be it! We will not leave our homeland again! The Light of Shandora will never again be extinguished!"

Outside, Milina helped Gan Fall into his plate armor. The elderly man's pink polka-dotted bird landed nearby with a shrill cry, and Milina gave it an odd look.

"And with the ringing of the Golden Bell, the war was over as the prophesy said." Gan Fall concluded his tale. "There was no more reason for war. The earth rejected no one, it was we who rejected each other."

Milina smiled. Though the story seemed a little embellished, she was glad that these people had found peace after so many years of conflict. Peace that Shiki was all too eager to disturb.

A tremor rippled through the land, causing Gan Fall to tense and the Shandians to come running.

* * *

...

* * *

"You've been planning this all along haven't you baby girl?" Shiki accused, shaking his head with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Yeah, I have. Forcing me to join using threats against my friends? Not a good idea." Lina wagged a finger. The earth quivered again as she finished.

"But I did everything that you asked me to." Shiki replied, his voice packed with mock disappointment. "Friends, homes, family. A true pirate doesn't care about that crap! If you let those things hold you back, you are only throwing your life away!"

"Speaking of throwing your life away..." Shiki hissed, raising his hands. "That's what you did when you decided to cross me a second time. And look! There are only three of you this time. You don't have even a chance of winning! Ah, but don't worry, you'll be seeing your friends on the other side real soon."

"Power is the only thing that matters in this world baby girl. What a waste. _Menacing Lion: Winding Earth!_" Shiki roared. At the legendary pirate's command, a colossal, mountainous shiver traveled through the earth and the battlefield exploded into anarchy. The soil buckled and writhed, sweeping upward into a sky darkening tsunami.

"Whoa, whoa Lina! What do we do?!" Gourry yelped. Lina ignored him, her mind going over the events of her meeting with Xellos.

* * *

_"Did you really meet Lei Magnus?!" Lina cried, her mouth gaping in astonishment._

_"Oh yes, he was the nobleman I mentioned who gave me the Demon's Blood Talismans." Xellos said. "The very same talismans that you now wear Miss Lina."_

_"And I'm guessing the 'service' you mentioned was wiping out the Golden Dragons during the War of Resurrection?" Lina pressed._

_"Ah, let us not bring up the long past, especially when there is business to be done now." Xellos interjected. "The reason I brought him up at all was for his legacy. You know the names of the two spells he invented, correct?"_

_Lina nodded. Lei Magnus was credited with a wealth of accomplishments, including the invention of two of the most powerful spells known. One was the Dragon Slave, which he had famously wielded to destroy a great Arc Dragon that was threatening a kingdom. Lina's own reliance on it was perhaps slightly responsible for her largely undeserved reputation._

_"The spell that I'm going to teach you has two variations, and you've already seen me use one." Xellos continued. "Unfortunately it is no longer possible for me to demonstrate and it would be best if you refrained from drawing attention as well. But I'm sure that a sorceress of your talent will be able to get them right the first time."_

* * *

"It's do or die." Lina ordered. "Luke, use the Flare Seal."

"What?! How is that going to help us in this situation?" Luke protested, looking frantically at the darkening sky.

"Just do it you dolt! There's no time!" Lina screeched. Luke sniffed indignantly and acquiesced, beginning the long incantation for the Flare Seal. Lina raised her talismans to form the endpoints of a cross.

_"Lords of the Darkness of the Four Worlds, on thy bonds I do swear. Grant me all the power that you possess!"_

The familiar power of the demon kings filled Lina's body. This next spell could not be used without it. Lina hoped it would be enough.

_"Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright. By the words of the covenant, let this power gather in my hand and become an inferno!"_

A cataclysm of heat erupted forth, scorching the surrounding area to a molten hellscape. Trees were burnt to ash, stone bubbled and ran like wax and the very air was warped and distorted. Lina glanced at Luke, who had finished his Flare Seal just moments before. A dimly glowing barrier pulsed around him and Gourry, holding the inferno at bay.

Mustering her will, Lina threw her arms wide.

_"Blast Bomb!"_

As the tsunami of dirt poured in, it was met by an obliterating hurricane of white-hot plasma. Their clash spawned an apocalypse of vaporized soil and superheated gases, a volcanic plume that blasted through the ceiling of the earthen dome, erupting into the heavens with a shuddering boom. The huddled evacuees still waiting to be lowered to the White Sea watched as Upper Yard was plunged into shadow. Bolts of lightning flashed through the glowing ejecta cloud.

"What kind of battle is this..."

"What will happen to our home?"

"It's like the end of the world."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** There's a lot of back-and-forth cutting in this chapter, particularly near the middle, and a pair of flashbacks in the later half. Lemme know if it feels weird and you guys think I should get rid of it, or if you've got suggestions for improving them.


	6. Chapter 6 - By Demons be Driven

**Chapter 6: By Demons be Driven**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Shiki moved his arms in wide sweeping gestures, recruiting more and more earth to restrain the flames. Hundred-foot trees were pulverized by the growing vortex and fed into the conflagration. Molten boulders rained from the tortured sky, blanketing Upper Yard in explosive anarchy. From the air, the island seemed to unravel, devoured by the hellish singularity that churned beside it. A second jet of vaporized material breached the sea of clouds, blowing its superheated contents into the layer below.

Shiki poured his full concentration into the clash, but despite his efforts, the flame was winning. There was not enough material on the entire island to hold back that inferno. Shiki regretted not bringing a transponder snail; once released, the fires would probably scour the island bare. The crews making up his armada, fearful of the burning debris that filled the skies, had landed and begun attacking on foot. They would be wiped out to a man.

Shiki took some consolation from the fact that he still had his SIQ beasts. Of all the assets he had gathered, developing them had taken the longest. Once he finished killing the girl and her little band of friends, he could rebuild his conventional forces again. Shiki was nothing if not patient.

* * *

...

* * *

At the shores of upper yard, one of the pirate captains reached a similar conclusion.

"This is a suicide mission! Get back to the ship!" He urged his men. "Pull up the anchor! Screw Shiki! We're outta-"

A tendril of brown hair lanced out and speared the man through the throat. It shook his limp body in the air for a moment before dumping it into the sea.

"Any other cowards will get the same treatment!" Dozle roared. His metal faceplate, rage-crazed eyes and colossal blades projected a terrifying visage. Even in the midst of battle, Shiki's forces feared him more than they did the enemy.

* * *

...

* * *

The defenders stood at the edge of forest and ruin, watching the apocalypse unfold.

"Impossible..." The Shandian Laki stared with eyes wide, her voice just audible over the howling wind.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kamakiri murmured, digging his spear haft into the ground. "This is like a battle between gods."

"These are not gods." Milina began. A panel of faces turned to look at her.

"Gods exist in the place we came from." She continued. "But no one has seen them for thousands of years. Demons exist too, and I've seen more than enough of them. Even the least of them can murder and destroy, while their greatest weave plots of war and annihilation."

Milina paused to recall a conversation from a few days ago. To her and Luke's shock, Lina's companions had, as one, confirmed her role in the destruction of not one, but two demon lords, collapsing the barrier around their land and leading directly to the current rush to make contact with the Outer World. Milina didn't think they were the type of people to lie about something like that.

"And yet, here we are." Milina said waving a hand at the clashing elements. "This is sorcery, a power that anyone can wield, allowing humans to harness forces greater than ourselves. And with it, we threw down the demons and broke their hold over our lands."

"Well, my word! A power that any may wield. That doesn't sound half bad." Gan Fall remarked. He stood a little straighter while his bird let out a piercing cry. The others arrayed themselves behind him.

The cacophany of the two clashing techniques began to fade to a dull roar. Milina caught a glimpse of Shiki in the sky, retreating. The legendary pirate was abandoning the duel.

"Everyone gather around me and prepare for the blast." Milina said. She began the long incantation for the Flare Seal as the storm of fire eroded away the last of its restraints, flaring outward into the open air.

At the last moment the flames condensed, compressing into a white-hot cyclone whose blinding light cast long shadows across Upper Yard. Milina smiled. Lina was in control.

New sounds rushed in to fill the sudden vacuum. Barked commands filtered in through the trees as pirate captains ordered their subordinates through the forest. The defenders readied their weapons.

"I forgot to mention it." Gan Fall climbed onto his bird's back. "But my partner, Pierre, is a bird that ate the Horse-Horse Fruit. Meaning, he can become a winged horse. Namely..."

Acknowledging the implicit command, Pierre began to change. His feathers split and softened into a coat of short fur while his talons merged to hooves. A second pair of legs grew from his chest.

"A pegasus?" Milina asked, doing her best to remain composed. She noticed, to her puzzlement, that the Shandians were averting their eyes.

"That's right, a pegasus!" Gan Fall declared.

Concealed excitement turned to disappointment as the bird completed his transformation, the resulting 'pegasus' retaining his original polka-dotted coloration, and looking more like an awkward patchwork of bird and horse than than the regal creature of legend.

"God Gan Fall!" The Shandian Braham cried. "What should we do about the great bell?"

"Oho, that's right." Gan Fall winked. "Ring the bell one last time before battle. Let the invaders hear the song of the land."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Milina cautioned as the Shandian warriors withdrew into the city. "Doing that could alert them to our position."

Gan Fall simply smiled and closed his eyes as the clarion sound of the golden bell echoed through the isle. The birds of the forest took to the air, calling in unison with the rhythmic chimes. The advancing pirates hesitated, unsure of the meaning of this noise.

The peals of the bell, clear as a mountain spring, echoed across sea and sky, reaching the ears of the evacuees on the White Sea below. Anxious civilians looked up, and felt their fear being lifted away. Despite the cataclysmic clash, the Golden Bell had survived.

The ground trembled at the Shandoran ruins and the sound of tearing wood could be heard from the forest. Milina caught a glimpse of an enormous shadow gliding between the trees. Noting her concern, Gan Fall gave Milina a reassuring look.

The tree line parted as a colossal serpent slithered into the ruins, and the Shandians simply looked on as the leviathan coiled protectively around the bell that had called it. Its forked tongue flicked out to assess the situation.

Sitting tall on his 'pegasus' with the snake at his back, Gan Fall raised his spear aloft.

"Now, let us drive our demons back to the sea from whence they came!"

* * *

...

* * *

A chilly breeze blew past Amelia's ear, causing her to shiver slightly. Beside her, Zelgadis caught a snowflake drifting down from the overcast sky, noting its ashen gray color.

A smoldering mound of blackened ash and twisted metal lay before them, the remains of the once elegant pagoda that housed Shiki's chemical laboratory. The still glowing embers hissed softly in the cold mountain air. On the other side of the ash pile, Shiki's clown-like scientist looked upon the ruins of two decades' work and let out a discordant wail.

"Shiki sent _you_?" Zelgadis snorted. "Now he's just insulting us." He threw back his cloak to reveal a pair of revolvers, which he had taken a liking to after confiscating them from the slavers.

"This despicable man is guilty of countless misdeeds!" Amelia brought her hands up to a spellcasting position. "Justice awaits you fiend!"

An arc of red struck lashed out toward Dr. Indigo, and the scientist leapt to the side, displaying an agility that belied his foolish appearance. The spell collided with the ground where he had stood but a moment before, penetrating five feet into the ground, pulverizing a slab of bedrock to dust. Dr. Indigo landed on his feet, throwing his arms wide. Luminous droplets of green emanated from his palms, gathering into orbs of flame that arrayed themselves above him.

"Chemical Juggling... ignite!" Dr. Indigo thrust a palm forward, sending the orbs streaking through the air toward Amelia and Zelgadis. New projectiles bubbled from his remaining hand, looping over his head to replace those that were spent; a never-ending rapid-fire barrage, like a clown juggling balls.

"Windy Shield!" Zelgadis called, hardening the air into a shimmering dome. The lime green flames slammed the barrier, which emitted a high pitched whine as it held back the assault.

"Piro piro piro piro." Dr. Indigo guffawed, "How do you like the power of my Chemical Juggling?"

The flames guttered out, revealing Zelgadis and Amelia to be unharmed.

"I don't have time for your theatrics, clown." Zelgadis replied.

Dr. Indigo bristled at the insult and gnashed his teeth in anger. A mass of newly formed fireballs merged into a single growing sphere over his head, already the size of the scientist's body and still growing. Darker spots of flame resembling a leering, demonic face formed on the orb's surface.

"Astral Vine!" Bolts of white flashed across Zelgadis' pistols, leaving behind a faint crimson glow. Dr. Indigo's eyes widened as the first shot ripped through his hair and struck a tree behind him. The thick conifer fell to the ground with a crack, snapped like kindling by the magically empowered bullet. With concentration lost, the scientist's attack fizzled and extinguished itself. Zelgadis smiled and prepared to fire again; the scientist's attack looked threatening but it was slow to build. He had fired the first shot in haste; he would not miss again.

A buzzing noise rose above the quiet hum of Zelgadis' enhanced weapons for a moment before an insect appeared beside him. Roughly the size of a hand, the creature's four membranous wings supported a hairy, bulbous abdomen that bulged and leaked black poison.

"Look out!" Zelgadis shouted. With only a moment to act, the chimera flung Amelia to the side and gritted his teeth, counting on his unnatural toughness to endure whatever came. He covered his eyes as the bug's explosive death coated him with a layer of black sludge.

"Are you okay Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia cried. Zelgadis looked down at at his body. Even where the substance made direct contact there was no discomfort. He brushed off the larger masses and glanced at the direction that the bug came from. There, the superior senses bestowed by his Brau Demon components picked up a solitary figure standing, hunched, on a mountain slope.

"Amelia, can you handle this joker?" Zelgadis asked.

"No problem Mr. Zelgadis! I'll defeat him with courage and a righteous heart!" Amelia flashed him a wink and pumped her first into the air. "The fire of justice in my heart will burn this villain to death, naturally!"

"I had to ask." Zelgadis looked at her uneasily. But allowing someone to snipe at them from a distance would be leaving Amelia in even more danger.

Invoking a Raywing, Zelgadis took off toward the slopes. Noting his approach, the sniper quickly obscured herself with a billowing black smokescreen. No, not a smokescreen, but a cloud of buzzing gnats so thick that it obscured everything within. Zelgadis drove the spell harder, flying close enough to note his opponent's features before visibility on the ground decreased to nothing.

"A pretty interesting ability you have here, Tomie." He called.

* * *

...

* * *

Separated from a hurricane of flame by a faint, blue barrier, Gourry actually felt a sense of relief. Though his memories of some of their past opponents were hazy, Gourry knew that when Lina got serious, they had always pulled through.

The tremors halted, leaving Gourry with a moment to wonder what was happening outside. And an instant later, just as quickly as they had appeared, Lina's flames pulled away, revealing the extent of the devastation. Vast fissures had been carved from the loam, the soil drawn away by Shiki to sustain their clash. A thick layer of cooling glass covered everything the flames had touched, reflecting the lightning flashes that twisted through the darkened sky. Gourry let out a gasp as he noticed the chasm that had formed at the epicenter of the spell, a gaping abyss that seemed to stretch down forever.

Through the rapidly fading heat haze, Gourry could see Lina floating over the gap, staring up at a golden speck in the sky. The blonde swordsman drew his weapon, though he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do against a flying opponent. As he stared, Gourry noticed Shiki's attention lapse. His monster-filled island, sitting far offshore on the cloud sea, began to move closer. The beasts that occupied the island, visible like colorful ornaments against its green backdrop, grew even more agitated as the landmass cut through the white cloud-water.

"Hey Lina he's moving the island back!" Gourry shouted and waved. "Hit him while he's looking away!"

Lina snapped out of her glaring match and gestured for Luke to attack. Luke nodded and raised his arms, already crackling with bright yellow sparks.

"Dynast Brass!" Luke yelled. Rather than crossing the intervening distance, arcs of lightning flitted down from the sky, forming a pentagram around Shiki. The pirate's last minute evasion failed as a titanic bolt pierced through the center of the formation. A pained, stuttering groan escaped from Shiki's lips and his control over his island was cut.

"Dolph Zoke!"

A titanic blast of pressurized water was expelled from Lina's hands, slamming into Shiki's chest like a liquid sledgehammer and sending him spinning through the air. Darting forward, Lina pressed the advantage with a Digger Volt, lashing at the pirate with a flickering arc of lightning. Blood stained Shiki's golden robes; his wounds from the previous battle had been reopened.

"We've got him on the ropes Gourry!" Lina cheered. "You go handle the pirates on the ground. Luke and I can beat this guy now."

"Aye aye captain!" Gourry saluted before sprinting off, glass crunching beneath his boots. He paused briefly as he noted the sounds of battle near the tree line, and dashed toward the source.

A tendril swept out from the forest and lanced into the ground, and only a split-second reaction allowed Gourry to leap clear of the attack. Even as he landed, he could hear the limb burrowing through the earth, splitting and multiplying like the veins of a leaf in preparation for a follow-up attack.

A forest of spikes exploded from the ground, a thousand spear-tipped threads shooting upward. Gourry covered his face as shattered glass flew and swung his sword as best he could. One speared into his leg, while others stabbing at his face were cut. The threads withdrew, shrinking back toward a solitary figure emerging from the shadow of the trees.

"Hey, it's you!" Gourry pointed.

Stepping out from the beneath the canopy, Dozle said nothing in reply, though his eyes blazed with his limitless hatred. The dim red glow of the sky reflected on his metal faceplate made him look positively terrifying. Two cleavers trembled within his hands, their components rattling against one another, growling for blood.

* * *

...

* * *

"Flare Arrow!" A dozen spears of flame flew from Luke's hands, forcing Shiki toward his side, where Lina's fireball was bearing down upon him. Again the pirate maneuvered away but Lina was prepared.

"Break!" On Lina's command, the fireball fragmented, spraying the air around it with a shower of sparks, tattering Shiki's clothing and face with a canvas of sizzling scorch marks. It was a minor wound, but with the pirate already so injured, every bit counted. And if they could just keep the pressure up, Shiki wouldn't be able to deploy his monsters against Milina and the defenders.

"Luke I can handle this." Lina suddenly ordered. "You go help Gourry."

Luke glanced toward the edge of the forest where another battle had broken out. Dozle was attacking relentlessly, sending dozens of tendrils at Gourry from every direction, trying to cut off his escape and crush him between them. The blonde swordsman was evading admirably but had no openings with which to attempt a counter-assault. Eventually he would make a mistake and that would be the end.

"Fine." Luke relented, directing his flight spell toward the island.

"You had better not screw this up." He called back at Lina.

Dismissing his Raywing, Luke landed behind Dozle, and the pirate paused in his assault, allowing Gourry to gain some distance.

"I guess we've seen all there really is to your Devil Fruit power." Luke taunted, hoping to tease out any remaining secrets. "You think that's gonna let you have a chance against the both of us?"

Luke's expression changed to one of puzzlement when Dozle laughed, a deep rumbling sound like grinding stones.

"How would you know what its limit is." Dozle asked. "When this is your first time seeing it?"

Looking past the pirate, the first thing Luke noticed was an expression of bewilderment on Gourry's face. Standing at Dozle's front, the blonde was seeing something that he wasn't. From behind, the pirate's hair began to lengthen, flowing down his back and out from his clothing. What? That wasn't right.

Luke rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly, and when he reopened them, his mouth gaped at the sight. A new appendage was now growing from Dozle's face; a elephant's trunk that hung down to his knees. With it, he tore off his white buttoned shirt, revealing that his entire torso was now covered by a thick carpet of dark brown fur. Arms and legs thickened to tree trunks as his height expanded upward; fifteen, twenty, twenty five feet tall. The cleavers, ponderous and oversized for a human wielder, now fit comfortably within his massive clenched fists. The metal faceplate expanded along with its wearer, forming gaps to accommodate a pair of gleaming ivory tusks that curled up over the pirate's face. The ropes strapping the final cleaver to his back were not as fortunate. They snapped, but before the blade could hit the ground Dozle stretched his trunk back to catch it. Wrapping the appendage around the weapon's handle, Dozle gave it a shake, causing it to unfold. Unlike the others, the edge of this third cleaver was serrated, made for tearing meat.

"My Devil Fruit is a rare Ancient Zoan." Dozle said, the sound of his voice seeming to conduct through the ground, shaking Luke to his marrow.

_"Elephant-Elephant Fruit: Model Mammoth."_

* * *

...

* * *

"Bomb di Wind!" Lina thrust her hands forward and fired. A bludgeoning attack, intended to exacerbate Shiki's injuries more. The pirate kicked forward with a sword, forming a scythe of wind that cut the spell in half. The pressurized blast dissipated harmlessly.

"Such a shame." Shiki said with mock concern. "That you will all die here."

"I don't think so." Lina replied. "With wounds bleeding like that you aren't going to last much longer."

Shiki laughed. "Is that what you were counting on you stupid girl? I was the one who fought with the legendary marines Garp and Sengoku at Marineford. I cut off my own legs to escape from Impel Down, the World Government's most secure prison. If I'm just fighting a moron like you, some little bruises like these..." He pointed to the bloody wounds on his chest. "Are nothing!"

"That's an impressive boast, but don't think I'll give up just with that." Lina replied. "There's no point in going adventuring if you can't do what you want."

A flicker of recognition was visible on Shiki's face for a moment, before it was replaced by an expression of rage. He exploded forward, one bladed leg extended, flinging himself forward with reckless speed. Lina struggled to maneuver the Raywing out of the way. An instant of stillness, silence, as the legendary pirate sailed at Lina's throat.

A nimbus of shadow erupted into existence, wrapped protectively around Lina, filling her vision with darkness, but allowing her to hear the pirate's cry of surprise. The new arrival flared its power, throwing back Shiki's charge.

"Oh dear, it seems I'll have to get involved too." Xellos' pronounced, his voice positively dripping with mock concern. "After all, the best way to hunt a lion is to chase it without stopping, never giving it a chance to bare its fangs."

The cloud of shadow condensed, compressing itself into a spinning black cyclone. This too unraveled, revealing Xellos' human form within.

"Eh? Who the hell are you?" Shiki growled.

"Oh, you don't know me?" Xellos raised his staff to a combative posture and opened his eyes, revealing his slitted cat-like pupils. A suffocating torrent of bloodlust filled the air.

"That's too bad, because I know all about you."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Arc finale in the next chapter.

I'll be sticking to English for Devil Fruit names, and I hope nobody minds. In Japanese, the two new ones would be Konchu Konchu no Mi (Tomie, Paramecia), and Zoa Zoa no Mi: Model Mammoth (Dozle, Ancient Zoan).


	7. Chapter 7 - Blaze of Glory

**Chapter 7: Blaze of Glory**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

**...**

* * *

_"Vice Flare!"_ Amelia cried, pitching a fist-sized orb of blue that expanded rapidly as it burrowed through the air. Green flames rushed out to meet it, and the two forces struggled mightily, unleashing waves of sweltering heat that vaporized the snow cover. Twisted spires of ice and blackened craters in the bedrock told of countless prior clashes.

Amelia took a step back, breathing hard from exertion. They had reached something of an impasse; while her own casting prowess had saved her thus far, the pressure from clown-scientist's constant attacks were keeping her from starting up any of her more powerful spells.

"No matter how great your power may be, as long as it never gives up and fights with all its strength, justice will triumph!" Amelia declared. A much needed confidence boost, to try something daring. Repeated exchanges at long range was not the hero's way after all; a true ally of justice ended battles quickly and decisively. Invoking a Visfarank, Amelia covered her fists with solid orbs of white and directed her Raywing forward.

"Piro piro piro! Getting desperate little girl?" Dr. Indigo taunted. He gestured with a hand and the green lights that danced around his figure like Will-o-Wisps were sent hurtling forward.

Amelia swerved through the barrage, the ground a white, horizontal blur as she raced at her foe. Avoiding one fireball, Amelia found herself faced with another that entered the protective sphere of condensed air. She raised a fist, wrapped in white astral energies and scattered the projectile. The instant of hesitation was all her opponent needed. Dozens of fireballs now spread before her, a veritable wall of flame, for it was all Amelia could do not to be forced back. And with each one she deflected, some of the radiance surrounding her fists bled away. Septic green flames rose up faster than the Raywing could blow them away them, fraying Amelia's clothing and stinging her skin.

_"Elmekia Lance!"_ Amelia cast in desperation, throwing a dagger of white through the fusillade. No mark appeared on Dr. Indigo's skin where it struck, but he stumbled back and his eyes glazed over momentarily. The orbs circling over his head flickered like candles. He gesticulated wildly to fire but the projectile simply quivered in his hand, unmoving. With a frustrated growl he tried again, and this time the fireball detonated with a dull roar. The wave of flame washed over the others, setting them off and engulfing the doctor in a toxic green conflagration. Amelia pumped a fist into the air and cheered.

Dr. Indigo rolled out of the inferno, arms flailing, desperately trying to extinguish the flames clinging to his lab coat. Burning fragments drifted from the scientist's hair and his pale skin was marred by burns. His eyes were bloodshot with rage but trembled also with a tinge of fear.

"Hmph, you think you can take care of me like that?" Dr. Indigo said. "And for what? To protect this insignificant little sky island? Who gives a damn if it gets destroyed? I know I wouldn't!"

Curtains of amethyst flames rose up around him, hissing where they touched the ground and setting the air screaming. An omnidirectional burst, a formidable defense that left no point unguarded. Amelia's mind raced as she sought the way to victory until the realization hit her. It was so obvious. Her Elmekia Lance, cast in desperation at the time, had not flown between the fireballs; it had gone through them. As a spell that damaged targets only on the Astral side, it would encounter no resistance from purely physical objects.

"Though you cower behind your walls, no force can protect you from my righteous fury!" Amelia shouted down as she finished her incantation. "Now, feel the hammer of justice! _Rah Tilt!_"

A bolt of sky blue flames raced down, piercing soundlessly through Dr. Indigo's barrier. The wall of flame quivered and collapsed, contracting in on itself before erupting outward with wild, unchecked power. Amelia turned her back to the explosion, allowing her face to be thrown into shadow, and struck a dramatic pose like all the real heroes did.

"This is the fate of all those who stand against justice!" She declared.

* * *

...

* * *

"A smokescreen is the tactic of an assassin." Zelgadis said slowly. The soft hum of his Raywing spell was drowned out by the buzzing of countless insects, a cacophonous droning static that sent patches of loose snow tumbling down from the peak high above.

"And if that's what you have to resort to in an open battle, then you're already losing."

A sphere of compressed air issued from Zelgadis' outstretched palms, slamming into the wall of insects with a dull roar, throwing up a shower of torn limbs and membranous wings. Despite the damage, the obscuring swarm remained intact, new members filing in to replace those that were lost. Zelgadis scowled; unlike Lina, he prided himself on his efficiency, defeating opponents with the minimum amount of force necessary. He quickly reminded himself that his friends were in danger as well, and that he needed to finish his battle and go to their aid.

_"Wind which blows across eternity..."_ Zelgadis closed his eyes to concentrate, beginning the incantation for Buday Wind, the strongest spell in the air shamanistic school.

When he opened them again, he paused. In response to the first attack, the swarm's behavior had changed; the seething cohesive mass was splitting apart, budding off dozens of subdivisions that drifted across the slopes. Zelgadis' eyes darted to and fro; any of them could be concealing Tomie, and he could no longer catch them all. With a roar of determination he aimed at the largest pocket and unleashed his attack.

The obliterating hurricane summoned by the spell smashed into the mountainside, blasting aside the thick snow, snapping trees like kindling, and flinging boulders through the air like so many grains of sand. A stretch of snow slid down the slope, but it came to a halt before it could build into an avalanche. Zelgadis covered his face against the backblast and peered through his fingers; only a few aimlessly fluttering insects from his target had survived, but Tomie had not been uncovered.

The surface of a distant swarm parted, belching forth a wave of attackers. Winged beetles the size of dogs tore through the air, long curved mandibles gleaming in the dim light of the lava-filled sky. As Zelgadis watched, the swarm concealing Tomie quickly merged with several others, then the conglomerate divided again to keep him guessing. With no choice but to follow the only lead he had, Zelgadis flew in his opponent's general direction and invoked a Dark Mist. Thick black fog filled the air, so dense that Zelgadis could barely see his hands.

The steady hum of the Raywing spell was replaced by a high pitched screech as something broke through its boundary. The intruder slammed into Zelgadis' gut, sending him tumbling. He looked down to see one of the beetles perched on his midsection, clicking its mandibles, then plunging them into his skin.

A white-hot current of pain coursed through Zelgadis' nerves as twin daggers pierced his abdomen, tearing out chunks of gravel-like flesh to be flung away by the beetle's scrabbling legs. Zelgadis drew his sword and swung it across the beetle's back; his eyes went wide as the blade glanced off the creature's smooth, black carapace. Cursing in frustration, Zelgadis jammed the blade's tip into the gap between the beetle's head and thorax. This seemed to have an effect; the creature's vice-like jaws loosened, though only a bit.

A second beetle appeared from the fog, its wings a blur of motion. It settled onto Zelgadis' right arm and tore at it in a frenzy. A streak of pain lanced into Zelgadis' back as a third began its attack there. The metallic taste of blood flowed over Zelgadis' tongue and a trickle of it leaked from the corner of his mouth. Another beetle latched onto his leg. And another. Zelgadis spiraled into the snow, crying out in pain, hands flailing desperately at his assailants. If he didn't think of something, anything to get these terrors off, then he was going to die here. An image of Amelia flashed into Zelgadis' thoughts. If he didn't defeat Tomie here, she would surely be killed next. Zelgadis swallowed his hesitation.

_"Digger Volt!"_ Zelgadis cried, touching the tip of his sword to his chest. A stuttering groan escaped from his lips as seething arcs of lightning coursed through his weapon and tore into his body. His fingers convulsed, his cape caught fire and blood leaked from his eyes and nose as capillaries were heated to a boil. The remaining droplets of sludge slathered over Zelgadis by Tomie's first attack boiled and withered to ash. At last, the beetles fell away, their legs still twitching from the residual charge.

Zelgadis slammed into the ground, then climbed unsteadily to his feet, pressing a palm to the throbbing wound on his midsection. A warm white glow suffused his hand and the burning pain faded to a dull ache. Granite-like flesh flowed into the gap and a new layer of pebbly blue skin covered it. Zelgadis fell to one knee; the Recovery spell had drawn heavily from his reserves to facilitate the healing. There was no longer room for extravagance.

The conjured fog began to dissipate, a black curtain pulling away to reveal a familiar scene. Looking down, Zelgadis realized he was standing knee-deep in loose snow, the remnants of the snowslide triggered by his attack. Yes, something like that would work.

Zelgadis raised his hands, forming his fingers into an approximation of a protractor. He nodded to himself as he noted the thick slabs of slow hanging precariously from the summit. A few vibrating blasts at the right spots-

Zelgadis' head snapped back down as Tomie launched her next attack. Spherical masses of webbing flew through the air, several landing near him. On impact, each globule unraveled, releasing a swarm of spiders, a living black carpet of skittering legs and wicked fangs. Zelgadis grimaced. If he took to the air, the appraisals he had already done would be erased. No, he would bear it and place all his faith in the plan.

To his surprise, the spiders ignored Zelgadis utterly, crawling around and even over him, still searching for their quarry. Zelgadis wisely remained motionless, and he smiled inwardly. The insects had been able to attack him unerringly even when blinded; it must have been scent, the scent of the substance deposited by Tomie's initial attack, that had lead them to him. A small measure of gratitude for Rezo welled up within Zelgadis as well, followed by a silent condemnation. To these insects that relied on smell, without any external factors to aid them, Zelgadis may as well have been a stone.

The final calculations settled into Zelgadis' mind; the angles of attack, the amount of power necessary, and the probable avalanche paths that would result. There was enough snow to cover most of the mountainside and sweep through every one of Tomie's swarms. The swarms were relatively slow moving, so if Tomie jumped to avoid the danger she would expose herself to attack.

_"Damu Brass!"_ Spheres of red flew up the mountain, impacting at a dozen points near the peak. Zelgadis watched with bated breath as the summit seemed to shudder, slabs of snow coming loose with a low rumble and flowing down the slopes, growing into thundering walls of white as they gathered more and more substrate. Traveling down at such a steep incline, an avalanche could achieve velocities of over two hundred miles per hour. Ensconced within her living cloud, Tomie would neither see nor hear it coming.

Suspended safely in the air, Zelgadis watched intently for motion as each mass of snow came to a halt at the base of the mountain. A hand broke through the surface and struggled to gain purchase. Zelgadis moved to intercept, striking at the snow with a barrage of fiery spears.

Zelgadis smiled as the flames dissipated, revealing the pirate, paralyzed and helpless within a small pool of meltwater. The snow was not tightly packed; water was leaking out through gaps in the 'bowl', leaving Zelgadis without enough time to cast a Rah Tilt. He drew his revolvers, still clad in the red glow of the Astral Vine. The cracks of gunfire echoed between the peaks.

* * *

...

* * *

Milina leaned forward on the branch she was resting on and pressed a softly glowing hand to a deep puncture wound on Pierre's hind leg. She closed her eyes and concentrated, shutting out all outside stimuli. Gan Fall held his breath as the entry hole began to contract, relaxing when the penetrator, a round metal pellet, was forced out before the wound closed fully. Milina caught the projectile before it could fall to the ground and rolled it between her fingers.

Pierre gave an enthusiastic shriek, accompanied by a grateful nod from Gan Fall as the two leapt off the tree branch that they were perched upon. Milina peered through the leaves as the awkward pegasus spread his wings and flew back toward the battle. It must have seemed to the pirates that their foes were immortal.

"Not one step back!" A pirate captain howled over the din of combat. "Fight together and push forward to the Golden City!"

A blur of motion descended from the trees, slamming into the captain's chest and sending him flying. His panicked subordinates waved their guns and fired wildly, but the few shots that were on target were deflected by the assailant's upraised shield. Darting behind trees only to appear from another unexpected direction, stopping just long enough to give the pirates but a glimpse, the 'Berserker of Shandia' fought like a stalking predator, hounding and corralling his prey before rending them all to shreds.

"I don't even need my gun to take your heads." Wiper growled. He sucked in a last lungful of pungent tobacco smoke and allowed the cigarillo to drop from his lips. The glowing tip hissed as it landed in a puddle of blood.

The Shandian warriors followed their leader and surged forward. Dial-based weapons shattered the ground and belched flames into the invader's lines but the pirates gave no ground, forcing the onrushing Shandians to break like waves upon rocks. On the shores of the bay behind them, over a dozen pirate ships were anchored, the spearpoint of the invasion and the salvation of the invaders. Even in the midst of battle, the pirates feared certain death more than probable death.

A rumbling noise echoed through the trees, heralding the arrival of yet another one of Shiki's beasts. Both sides drew back and hid for the moment, for the monsters held no allegiances.

A great cheer went up from the pirate lines as the creature revealed itself to be a red-furred gorilla, dressed in a pink suit tailored to fit its inhuman proportions. The defenders exchanged confused glances but Milina gave a knowing frown; Scarlet was different from the others and somehow seemed to hold a high position on Shiki's crew.

"Be careful!" Milina warned, leaping from her perch and landing among the Shandians, "That's a member of Shiki's crew."

Raising one massive paw, Scarlet pointed in Milina's direction and uttered a series of grunts. The pirates seemed to understand, or at least the meaning was simple enough; they charged with weapons drawn and guns firing. Scarlet himself lead from the front, barreling through trees and tossing boulders aside. Within seconds the ape was nearly upon them.

"If you get desperate in battle, that's when you lose." Wiper scoffed, his face taking on a slightly crazed look. He raised his cannon to shoulder level and with a crack of thunder, a cannonball tore through the air straight at the great ape's face. Milina covered her eyes against the flash and followed the retreating Shandians as they retreated to the edge of the expanding dust cloud.

Rapid, heavy footfalls erased the smile from Wiper's face, giving but an instant of warning before a massive arm shot out of the smoke and batted him away. Milina opened her mouth to cast but a second mighty paw reached out and wrapped itself around her, pinning her hands to her torso. Scarlet leapt upward and the ground pulled back, the world a vertical blur as the ape raced through the canopy with its prisoner.

An explosion of debris was visible from atop the trees where the serpent Nola had intercepted a monster that approached too closely to the Golden City. Scarlet glanced at it for a moment before turning back to Milina. Though the ape's thick jaw was bloodied and one fang was chipped by the blast, it grinned delightedly, puckered its lips and pulled Milina close for a kiss.

* * *

...

* * *

"Wow..." Gourry said slowly, "This is the first time I've seen a manmoth."

"This is no time for jokes!" Luke yelled back.

Dozle said nothing, and the ground trembled beneath his heavy footsteps as he turned to face the blonde swordsman. He paused, his thick trunk rubbing a shallow cut that was etched across his faceplate.

Gourry lunged, sword flashing a silver arc in the dim light. Dozle responded with a wave of threads, their tips compacted into spearpoints, and Gourry hewed at them, each strike swifter than the last.

Luke sprinted to the side, placing Dozle between himself and Gourry, and with a roar of "_Bram Gash"_, he flung a dozen invisible blades of wind at the hulking pirate's back. Animated hairs condensed into dense, twisting cables that flawlessly intercepted every missile and dispersed them with muted booms. Two that had been intentionally thrown high to cut off Dozle's escape were utterly ignored.

"What the-" Luke mumbled in dismay.

Ahead, Gourry's assault had come to a halt, and he was just barely holding his ground against endless waves of strands. A cut stained his cheek and dozens more marred his clothes and limbs. Seeing an opportunity, Dozle swung his trunk at Gourry's side with stunning speed, aiming for a lethal strike with the serrated blade in its grasp.

With Dozle's tendrils positioned to cut off easy escape, Gourry had no choice but to brace himself, stabbing his sword into the dirt. Even so, the impact sent him skidding along the ground, cutting a groove where his blade dug in. The corners of Dozle's mouth curled up in a vicious grin as Gourry's weapon was caught between the serrations, allowing one of the blade's teeth to bite into his side.

"I've got you!" Dozle roared. Taking a step back, Dozle pulled back his trunk, the serrations of his weapon catching Gourry's sword and wrenching it from his hands. A grunt escaped Gourry's lips as each tooth ripped into his side in rapid succession, tearing away with bloody strips of flesh dangling from their tips. The blonde swordsman hit the dirt, rolled away, and stumbled to his feet, one hand clutching his bleeding wound. It didn't look immediately fatal, but they couldn't afford to let this battle drag on. Gourry's sword clattered to the ground, well within the reach of Dozle's waiting tendrils.

Luke pulled his own sword from its scabbard and eyed his weaponless ally. Though Dozle had turned now to face Luke, every twitch or step Gourry took toward his dropped weapon provoked a response, forcing him back every time. Luke briefly considered throwing his weapon to Gourry, but extinguished the thought as he remembered how easily Dozle had intercepted his spell.

_"Ruby Eye Blade!"_ Luke called, releasing his stored trump card. A torrent of energy exploded from his blade, a blood red sun casting all into shadow. Then, the nimbus collapsed, compressing into a crimson aura molded tightly around his weapon. Lina wasn't the only one who could draw power from Ruby Eye Shabranigdo.

Dozle's raised his weapons protectively, as if somehow knowing he couldn't afford to be hit. The ground rumbled as his countless threads gathered into a massive conglomeration, an avalanche of brown that swept down upon Luke as he charged.

A single swing parted the wave, disintegrating every thread within a ten foot radius, buying Luke a step forward before Dozle attacked again with renewed force. Like the lone mariner, cutting through the storm, Luke advanced violently, relentlessly. As long as he held Ruby Eye's power within his grasp, no thread could touch him, and Dozle's rate of regeneration was slowing as he tired.

Beneath his metal faceplate, Dozle's eyes harbored a glimmer of fear for the first time since the battle had begun. With one arm, he swung a cleaver from the side, its blade aimed to split apart Luke's head. It was sliced apart, the two halves melting into formless piles of slag. With his second blade he made an overhead attack; this too was brushed aside, and at last, Luke stood before his foe. He leapt into the air, sword at the ready, eyes painted on Dozle's remaining weapon; the serrated cleaver that had wounded Gourry during their previous clash.

Dozle tilted his head and his eyes narrowed in concentration. His left tusk extended, its tip shooting out on a trajectory that would have it punch through Luke's chest.

Luke's eyes widened in surprise and he jerked aside reflexively. Instead of spearing him through the ribs the tusk stabbed into his arm, sending him spinning through the air. Panic strobed through Luke's mind as his sword slipped from his grasp, and the crimson aura around its blade evaporated. Luke hit the ground and the shadow of Dozle's blade fell over his body.

A rumbling cry of pain entered Luke's ears, jolting him back into awareness. He scrambled away and glanced back over his shoulder, noticing that pirate had turned away. A long red line now marred Dozle's back, though it was still a small wound compared to his transformed bulk. Gourry stood on the other side, bloodstained sword held in his hands.

"Looks like your prediction thing isn't perfect." Gourry answered Luke's question as he was forming it. "When Luke got close, you got scared and stopped watching what I was doing."

"That was very dangerous." Dozle conceded. "But your advantage is spent." He raised one massive foot and brought it crashing down down upon Luke's sword with a metallic crunch. Luke fought down a wave of dismay at the state of his prized sword as Dozle paused, expecting a reaction.

"So why are you still fighting us?!" Dozle roared. "What do you think you're gaining by joining and betraying us like this?!"

The words were spoken to Gourry, who gave no response but to grip his blade more tightly. The pirate turned instead toward Luke.

"We didn't join you because we wanted to!" Luke roared. "Your captain said he would take the fight to the government, that he would take over the world." The words just poured out, carried by a flood of memories that he had thought long forgotten. "But Milina put her life on the line to get me away from that!"

"Now because of me." Luke's shoulders trembled. "Because I wanted to look for treasure in that stupid cave at Bezeld, we ended up here and got caught by your captain. He says he cares about his crewmates, but crewmates taken by force are no better than slaves right?!"

"I don't want her to live the life I've had! And now, if I can't beat you, then you'll kill her! So I'll fight. I'll fight until she is safe. I'll fight until I get back what your captain took away!"

With a defiant roar, Luke launched another Bram Gash at Dozle's towering body.

* * *

...

* * *

Milina swallowed her nerves and kept both eyes on Scarlet's huge slobbery lips as she whispered her spell. Below the canopy, the battle was raging anew; she would have to face her foe alone.

_"...let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite. Garuk Ruhard!"_ Milina shouted the chaos words loudly enough for ape to hear.

A rippling wave of distortion appeared around Milina, frozen in time for a moment before propagating outward. Though the trees were left unmolested, the effect it had on the gorilla was clear. Scarlet clutched his head in pain and his posture sagged, allowing Milina to pull free of his grasp and take to the air.

A touch of lucidity returned to Scarlet's eyes and he stretched out a hand to recapture his prize. Milina swerved away from the clumsy grab and drifted higher, out of the ape's immediate reach. Scarlet leapt upward in another attempt to recapture his wayward prisoner, and again Milina dodged to the side, this time avoiding him by mere inches. The ape was recovering rapidly from the astral attack and Milina wouldn't have time to fire her trump card.

A instant before Scarlet was due to land, Milina hurled a flurry of icy daggers at the canopy beneath him; unable to change his trajectory, Scarlet was struck at the precise moment of landing, his legs frozen to the branches. His violent attempts to free himself simply tore the branches from their attachments, loosening his footing and giving Milina time to act.

Milina released a Rah Tilt, and a column of silent blue flames erupted around Scarlet. The ape quivered, his eyes rolled back into their sockets, and white foam dripped from the corners of his mouth. He staggered as his muscles slackened, falling back, sinking into the forest canopy. Sharp cracks could be heard as he plummeted through the branches, followed by a final dull thud.

Milina's moment of contentment was pierced by a needle of panic. The Garuk Ruhard that she had used to free herself had a wide area of effect, and her allies were closer. She dropped to the forest floor and rushed to the battlefield.

"It's been over twenty years since I've seen someone do that." Gan Fall mused when he noticed her approaching. Many of the defenders had been rendered unconscious by the spell, while those who resisted, both Gan Fall and Wiper among them, were halting and unsteady in their movements. A number of pirates had been knocked out as well, while the rest could be heard fleeing in the distance.

"What happened to the rest?" Milina gestured aimlessly as she took a seat on a protruding root. Only a few pirates had been caught by her spell, so the numbers should have tilted in their favor.

Gan Fall gave a knowing glance, which was met by Milina's confused expression.

"They fled when you used the power of the conquering king."

* * *

...

* * *

Even without being able to read the expressions of Dozle's transformed face, Gourry could tell that Luke's words had affected him. The mammoth pirate flawless predictions failed, and Luke's wind blades bit deep into his face and chest, sending him staggering back with a roar of frustration. Gourry saw the opportunity, so he ignored all the cuts and bruises he had already received and darted in.

Tendrils of hair lashed out to fend him off, but now they lacked the precision, the utter surety that had suffused their attacks before. Gourry made careful note of the new attack pattern even as he weaved through it; gone was the coordination, the attempts to cut off his predicted avenue of escape and force him to improvise. Leaping away from a spear-tipped thread, Gourry rolled to his feet and connected with a series of slashes, finishing with a downward swing into Dozle's leg that caused him to collapse to one knee.

Gourry raised his sword again but Dozle recovered quickly. He wheeled about in a fury and struck out with sledgehammer fists, pulverizing the ground with every blow. Gourry was forced back by the frenzied assault, narrowly sidestepping a blow that would have shattered his skull.

_"Abyss Flare!"_

Luke's spell set Dozle's back ablaze with a carpet of crackling flames. Dozle howled in pain and tried to smother the flames but the spell stubbornly refused to be extinguished. Luke pressed the attack, pelting the pirate with a barrage of flare arrows that left blackened pockmarks on his skin. Gourry wrinkled his nose at the acrid smell of burnt hair as he made a leaping charge, and planted his sword up to the hilt into Dozle's gut.

"Not yet." Dozle boomed. A trickle of blood flowed from his lips, filtering into and staining the fur on his chest. Fur that was erupting outward once again, advancing in a massive brown tide fueled by what must have been the last of Dozle's stamina. Gourry abandoned his sword and vaulted back.

The ground beneath Gourry cracked and split as tendrils of hair slithered out, reaching for his legs. So that was what he was doing, making a big show to conceal the limbs that he had sent underground! Gourry twisted and kicked but it was to no avail; the tendrils seized his legs, pinned them to the ground, and snaked up his torso. Without his sword, he didn't have the strength to pull himself free.

Dozle transferred his remaining cleaver to one hand and drew back to swing, aiming to decapitate his opponent in one blow. The pirates mouth moved, as if to say something, but Gourry heard only the ringing of the blade as it sliced through the air on a path toward his neck.

_Damn it-_

Gourry gasped when he realized he was lying on his side, freed from his restraints. He blinked, then looked up at his opponent. Though Dozle's expression had changed little, his grip on his cleaver loosened, and he staggered one, two steps, and collapsed. And standing on his back was Luke, a blade of energy held between his hands, the tip thrust directly into Dozle's spine. Dozle didn't scream or even cry out as his body was corroded by the malevolent energies; just laid there, staring.

"The one who stands in the end is righteous. Fitting for your last words." Luke said at last. He released his grip on the scarlet blade, allowing it to fizzle and fade. He jumped down and strode next to Gourry, favoring one leg as he walked but with a victorious spring in his step.

"Come on, let's go find Milina." He nudged.

Luke trudged past, but Gourry remained behind, looking into the face of his dying opponent. They had fought together, sparred with one another, but there was something deeper there as well. Here was another man who had found a purpose, something to do with his life, something that he would give his life to protect.

Staring into Dozle's eyes, Gourry could see that the violent rage that had filled them at the battle's beginning had burnt out. As the pirate's gaze lost focus, the mask fell from his face, revealing a symbol seared onto the skin of his forehead. A circle with four points arrayed around it, resembling a claw-mark made by some strange beast, forever marking its bearer as less than human.

* * *

...

* * *

Xellos and Shiki were moving so quickly that Lina could barely see them, a black blur clashing against gold. Xellos flickered in and out of sight, parrying and stabbing with the point of his staff. Dozens of tiny black cones swarmed around him like locusts, seeking weakness during every clash and covering Shiki with tiny cuts from every angle. His killing intent thickened the air into a stifling, choking fog.

Weathering the storm, Shiki launched attacks with all four of his limbs, striking with overwhelming speed and ferocity. Golden air-slashes crowded the space around Xellos, forcing him back again and again. Great boulders orbited the battlefield and whenever Shiki cleared some distance he would fling them inward in twos and threes, trying to crush his opponent between them. Lina's eyes widened as she noted that Xellos wasn't undamaged either; patches of static marred his body, glitches in the fabric of his physical form.

A wind blade struck one of the bubbles of water clinging to the side of an island, separating it from the main volume. With a gesture, Shiki took control of the falling mass, separating it into eight winding streams of liquid, eight serpentine bodies tipped with roaring lion heads. Xellos' jaw dropped in surprise as they coiled around him and compressed into a sphere, leaving him suspended helplessly in the center.

"I don't know what kind of Devil Fruit you're using, but every ability user has the same weakness!" Shiki howled in delight. He directed the water to move Xellos closer to the surface and hurtled forward, sword-legs extended.

"Xellos, just how useless can you get!" Lina cursed. She began the incantation for the Zelas Brid; it took a while to cast, but now that she'd seen Shiki fight seriously, it was the spell that had the best chance of hitting.

With Shiki's blades just inches from his throat, Xellos vanished and reappeared in the open air. He chuckled quietly as Shiki plunged into his own trap, the pirate's face twisting into an expression of shock. Lina beat herself a little on the inside; she had fallen for the act too. The sphere of water lost cohesion as Shiki's powers were neutralized, but enough contact was being maintained as they fell to render the pirate helpless. But it was a long way down to the cloud sea, and the mass would disperse soon enough; even if he did fall in, Lina couldn't be sure that this strange cloud-water would have the same debilitating effect.

Xellos seemed to be thinking the same thing, and warped himself down to Shiki's level. He dismissed his staff and began to build up energy in his hands.

"I can't recall ever mentioning that I was an ability user." Xellos tapped his chin. "Really, what could have given you that idea?'

Xellos unleashed his attack at point blank, midnight missiles detonating in explosions of white. Lina released her own spell, sending the ribbon of energy snaking into the chaos. The remaining water poured out from the nadir of the blasts, dyed red with blood less spilled than splattered.

"Well, I think that tidies up loose ends." Xellos said. He glanced with mild annoyance at the still-orbiting field of boulders around them before his face shifted back to its normal, disarmingly friendly expression.

"I suppose those will make for a great story for the descendants of these people to tell." He nodded. "Anyway, I can take us safely through those." Xellos held out a hand for Lina, the air already warping around him as he prepared to bend space.

"Don't think you're done with me." Shiki's voice growled from within the remnants of the explosion. Lina gasped, but Xellos was unfettered.

"Oh, still alive after all that? I guess I can see why your crew calls you a legendary pirate." Xellos remarked. He summoned his staff and drifted forward to deal the finishing blow.

One of the orbiting boulders fell inward, and with a dismissive look, Xellos prepared to defend himself against it. As the boulder curved and missed the Mazoku by a wide margin, Lina realized that it was heading straight for her. She summoned a barrier but the impact jarred it, sending her tumbling through the air. Then two boulders fell in, then four, then eight.

Realizing what would happen, Xellos appeared at Lina's side and raised his own barrier, which smoothly repelled the first wave of projectiles. The second wave followed heedlessly and smashed against the inviolable wall. The third wave was so thick as to blot out the surroundings and the strain of maintaining the barrier was beginning to show. By the fourth wave, more glitches had appeared on Xellos' body as he pushed against his limits, tears that revealed the emptiness beneath the surface. Shiki was apparently not bound by such limits; his Devil Fruit could suspend huge islands indefinitely in the air, and he could draw substrate from them endlessly.

"Oh how the tables have turned. Quite a bad situation we're in, right Lina?" Xellos smiled, his voice clearly audible despite the relentless pounding of the rocks. Lina recoiled as she watched a crease form over one of his eyes.

"Well? Well?! What do we do!?" Lina practically shrieked into Xellos' ear. "What about the Blast Bomb? It worked last time."

"Oh dear." Xellos held up his hands diplomatically. "I'm afraid if you did that, I may be gravely injured. You must remember that I'm confined to the physical world for the duration of our stay here. You wouldn't want to hurt a good friend like me right?"

Lina snorted. Xellos still wasn't really a friend, but he was protecting her, and would probably be helpful for the foreseeable future. She considered and discarded the idea of trying a Dragon Slave; if she aimed badly hit a boulder, the resulting blast would definitely finish off Xellos, and it would leave her without enough time to cast again.

"Well..." Xellos began. "If you feel you're up to it, you could try the other variant of the Blast Bomb by modifying the incantation as I taught you. I can adjust my barrier to let your spell through, and then you may be able to push back this assault. What do you say?"

"Well, you know what I like to say." Lina replied, lifting her arms high.

"And what would that be?" Xellos inquired, disturbingly nonchalant even as his staff and cape eroded away.

Lina gave no response as she called upon the Demon Kings, entreating them to grant her their power once more. Flames gathered around her, condensing into a blinding brilliance that flooded through the gaps between the boulders, a radiance that would not, could not be constrained, transcending fire and becoming like the sun.

Lina glanced up at Merveille, where the light of her spell flickered and danced on the snow-covered slopes, where Amelia and Zelgadis were waiting for her to deliver the win. She looked down at the shores of the sky island, and felt a wave of relief when she spotted Gourry, kneeling as Milina pressed a glowing palm to his wounds. On the surface of the water, Lina could see that the battle had come to a halt, stilled by the sight of such radiance. Even the fleeing pirates, crowded onto a handful of battered ships, could do naught but stare at the clash between the supreme powers.

"In a battle like this, you can do, or you can die!" Lina said. She swept her arms out, causing the gathering light condense into a swarm of luminous sparks.

_"Blast Bomb!"_

In an instant the pinpoints flew outward, expanding into fist-sized orbs of flame as they left the boundary of Xellos' barrier. A pandemonium of explosions devoured Shiki's boulders, burning them to cinders and clearing the line of attack.

"Hey Shiki!" Lina shouted, calling through the smoke and fire, and over the cacophonous blasts that roared around her.

"You wanted my decision? Well here it is! This is my justice!"

With a gesture, Lina directed the remaining fireballs forward in their thousands, and wherever they struck, all resistance was swept aside and made as nothing.

* * *

...

* * *

From within a floating fortress of stone, Shiki sat wordlessly, listening to the explosions thundering against his walls. He thought back to his first defeat, twenty two years ago, by a pirate from East Blue. East Blue, where he had forcibly recruited this gaggle of miscreants, who he himself had made into pirates.

_Am I going to be defeated again by a pirate from East Blue?_

As all matter in his fortress was annihilated and his vision filled with white, it was all Shiki could do to howl his name.

"**Roger!**"

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Longer chapter than usual, second to last in the Strong World Arc. If you have any questions about any of the pseudo-OCs in this arc, lemme know and I'll do my best to answer.


	8. Chapter 8 - To the Blue Sea

**Chapter 8: To the Blue Sea**

**Strong World Arc**

* * *

**...**

* * *

"Admiral! Pirates have appeared at the Summit of High West!"

Lounging on a beach recliner on the battleship's deck, Kuzan lifted the corner of his sleep mask with a finger and blinked sleepily at the ensign before him.

"Don't get so worked up." He pronounced, raising his free hand in a placating gesture. "Vice Admiral Momonga is in that area isn't he? I don't really feel like capturing anyone today, so just let him know that he has my permission to… how should I put it… just do whatever he wants."

Taking a moment to rearrange his overcoat, which he had folded into a makeshift cushion, Kuzan settled back down to his rest. He had earned the ire of his superiors when he took it into his own hands to investigated matters on Long Ring Island, and he'd been hoping to mollify them by taking on an assignment. But really, couldn't they have seen fit to give him a less troublesome task?

"Admiral!"

Another minute, another interruption.

"Admiral! You have to look at this!" His subordinate exhorted again.

Kuzan rotated to a sitting position, his every movement devoid of motivation, and shifted his sleeping mask aside. Accepting the lieutenant's offer of binoculars, the admiral of "lazy justice" took a moment to stretch his neck, then scanned the skies where his subordinate had pointed. Through the magnification, he could just make out something falling...

Kuzan's languid expression hardened and his countenance shifted at once, his aura rising to an intensity that befitted a man praised as one of the Navy's greatest powers. Frost began to form on his body, spots of rime crystallizing over his fingers and crawling across his clothing with muted cracks. Waves of freezing mist drifted from the icy patches, pooling along the grooves running across the battleship's deck.

"Leave the ship here and wait for further orders." Kuzan commanded, standing up to his full, imposing height. "I'll be back in a moment."

* * *

...

* * *

"So this is the artifact that the pirates were after." Zelgadis murmured to no one in particular, running a finger over the grooves and indentations carved into the block. Its material was unlike anything he had seen before; when tapped, it made a sound like stone, but despite the obvious age of the golden belfry within which it was embedded, there was not a single chip or scratch to be found on its surface.

Zelgadis noted that some of the symbols and fragments thereof were repeated across the text. Even at a glance, it was clear that the carvings upon the block were some sort of writing.

"Hey Lina, do you have any idea how to decode this?" Zelgadis shifted to look at his friends. Standing behind him, Gourry and Amelia reciprocated his gaze with blank stares, but Lina was nowhere to be seen. Investigating, Zelgadis found the sorceress wrapped around a corner of the golden belfry, her face frozen in a stupefied expression.

"Gold… gold… gold…" Lina was mumbling, a stream of saliva trickling from one corner of her mouth. Zelgadis sighed. She was not going to be of any use in this state. And was she rubbing a cheek against the monument?

"Maybe I can be of help." A voice spoke from behind them.

Zelgadis fought the urge to draw up his hood and turned toward the source of the voice; an elderly man, hair and beard white with age, who leaned slightly on his staff as he ambled toward them. Reclusive by nature, the chimera had yet to familiarize himself with the sky island's inhabitants, but from the man's dress, it was clear that he was a leader of some sort.

"Not so long ago, another group passed through Skypeia." The chief continued. "And there was one among them who knew the meaning of these symbols. Although she did not tell us the full meaning, nor did we care to learn it, I can relay some of her words to you if you wish."

"Hold your true motive in your hearts, and do not speak of it." The chief began to recite, and as he spoke, a second voice joined with his, one that Zelgadis was all too familiar with.

"We are the ones who weave history, with the sounding of the great belfry."

"That is what it says, right?" Xellos concluded, giving a cheerful wave from atop the monument's remaining pillar.

"Xellos!" Zelgadis exclaimed, glowering at the Mazoku. If there was one thing he could guarantee, it was that Xellos always had ulterior motives in mind when he offered his 'help'.

"Hello!" Xellos gestured as if tipping an unseen hat, pointedly ignoring Zelgadis' obvious hostility. "Anyway, was what I read an accurate translation of the text?"

"Could it be… you can understand these characters as well?" The chief replied, astonished.

"Good! Good!" Xellos smiled, clasping his hands together. "Now that we're clear on that, would you like to hear the rest?"

* * *

...

* * *

"Visualize the light, and repeat the words." Milina said. She stretched out a hand and swept it through a shaft of light that percolated into the clearing, allowing the glare to reflect off her palm for emphasis.

"L-light which burns beyond crimson flame." Aisa whispered, her voice quivering. "Let thy power gather in my hand. L-lighting?"

The other children craned their necks to look but no light appeared between the Shandian girl's cupped hands. Milina knew well the difficulties involved in learning one's first spell; the mental exercises involved were hard to grasp for many initiates. Still, the girl was catching on remarkably quickly; magical energies were flowing, if not quite at a level sufficient to produce a visible effect. Within an hour, she had arrived at a point that most ordinary sorcerers would reach only after days of rigorous study.

Milina shot a glance at Luke, who stood off to one side of the clearing, his lack of interest plain for her to see. Since the day she met him, she'd known that Luke was a rather self-centered man. He had only come, entirely unasked, as part of another ridiculous and transparent attempt to impress her.

"Again, but with confidence." Milina encouraged the girl.

Aisa inhaled deeply and chanted the lines again. As she spoke the power words, a glimmer of light shined between her palms, enduring for but a moment, but clearly visible to all. A wave of excitement spread through the remaining children and they clamored to hear the spell words again.

"H-oh. Quite remarkable." Gan Fall nodded approvingly from his seat atop a fallen log. "Maybe even I should give it a try." He laughed, a sincere, heartfelt laugh that emanated from the pit of his stomach.

"She learns fast." Milina replied as Aisa invoked the spell again, this time managing to conjure a brightly glowing spark that endured for several seconds.

"But if you don't mind my asking," Milina inquired, "what did you mean when you said I had used the 'power of the conquering king'."

"Twenty years ago a blue sea pirate by the name of Roger came to Skypeia." Gan Fall began. He smiled while he spoke, as if he were recalling a set of wonderful memories.

"Roger wielded that power, the color of the conqueror, the power to dominate weaker wills and suppress them. It was a power that I believed was like no other. But now that you have come, and shown us what you know, I am no longer so sure."

Milina furrowed her brow. What Gan Fall had described was undoubtedly an astral side attack, but if the humans of this world had no knowledge of sorcery, how was it that they could do such things? Luke had relayed as well the events of his battle against Shiki's subordinate, who could accurately forecast his intentions without even looking. Milina made a note to investigate these abilities more thoroughly should they encounter them in the future.

Gan Fall chuckled. "There is still much we don't understand about our world."

Milina replied with a light smile.

"Ours too."

* * *

...

* * *

"An ancient weapon, 'Poseidon', named after a god." Lina nodded, having come back to her senses. She pounded a fist into an open palm to emphasize the point.

"This is exactly what we've been looking for!"

Gold was sweet, but defacing the sacred monument of the sky islanders for something like that wouldn't have sat well with anyone. And the chance to acquire an ancient artifact was infinitely the sweeter.

"Really?" Gourry scratched his head. "What would we want to do with an ancient weapon?" Standing dumbly to one side and staring off into space, the blonde swordsman's attentions were already drifting elsewhere.

"Don't act like this is none of your business!" Lina shot back. "This whole journey to look for a new sword, this is all for you you know!"

"Whatever." She huffed. "Even if you're fine with a regular weapon, I won't be able to rest easy until you have a magic sword. Especially if we're going to be stuck in this world."

"And even if it's not a magic sword, maybe it'll be something that can help turn Mr. Zelgadis's body back to normal." Amelia added.

"Maybe." Zelgadis replied. "Well it's not like we're doing a whole lot of good sitting around here."

"Alright then it's settled!" Lina exhorted. "Get one of the pirate ships ready, and we'll set sail as soon as possible!"

As Gourry and the others hurried away to prepare for departure, Lina noticed out of the corner of her eye that there was another set of markings, smaller and crudely carved into the soft gold of the belfry. It was obvious even at a glance that these had been engraved by someone other than the monument's creators.

"What's this say here Xellos?" Lina scuffed the carvings with a boot.

Xellos scratched his chin and leaned down to read.

"Hmm, these symbols seem to translate as, 'I made it here, and I will guide this text to the ends of the earth. Pirate Gol D. Roger.'" Xellos shrugged his shoulders with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What do you suppose that means, Lina?"

"Doesn't sound like anything too important for us." Lina sniffed. She glanced at the others, who had already faded to small dots on the sky island's winding coastline.

"By the way young lady." The Shandian chief approached. "From your reaction, it seems you desire gold right?"

A blush formed at the tips of Lina's ears, spreading until her earlobes were dyed a rosy red.

"Would you happen to have some that I could take off your hands?" She turned to the chief, her face covered with an expression of barely-contained glee.

"Well, we cannot give you the bell." The chief nodded with a knowing smile. "However, we left one of its broken pillars resting at the ruins nearby. You're planning to leave so soon, and we have to show our gratitude somehow."

* * *

...

* * *

"A little to the left." Lina directed. "Little more Gourry."

The pillar that the sky islanders had offered was far too large for any of the ships to carry safely, so they had been forced to slice off the upper sixth of its length to take away. Moving the block with earth magic had been the easy part, but once they reached the shore, the mass still needed to be raised onto a ship. And that was where Lina's plan came in. Some would have called it crazy, but nobody ever got anything without trying.

At Lina's direction, they had constructed a makeshift crane using earth magic and the great trees of the island, strong enough to hoist the gold onto one of the abandoned pirate ships. The ship's cargo door was not wide enough to accommodate the block, while leaving it on the deck would have made them a target for just about anyone they met on the high seas, so a larger opening had to be cut out before the gold could be lowered into the hold. It was quite a delicate operation. If the block was released into the opening from a little too high, or dropped onto the remainder of the deck itself, it would sink the ship and plummet through the cloud layers into the blue sea below. Even though she couldn't have the entire pillar for now, Lina's heart ached at the very idea of just throwing away gold like that. And with only a few serviceable ships left, they had a limit on how many attempts they could make.

Lina giggled to herself. Growing up, she had been fed a steady diet of tales from her parents' adventuring days; and her undisputed favorites were the stories of gallant princes and their majestic, shining castles. Handsome princes were no longer a priority, but the dream of living in a castle was still one that Lina held near and dear to her heart. And if they could get this block of gold home, she could commission a manse so grand that it would put even the Saillune Royal Palace to shame. It would have a sparkling marble-tiled pool, and jewel-encrusted carriages drawn by teams of white horses and servants attending to her every whim. Lina giggled again. A girl's gotta dream, right?

Zelgadis and Amelia nervously eyed the makeshift crane they had fashioned on the shore as Gourry tugged hard on the structure's ropes, swinging its arm over the ship's deck and causing the wooden frame to groan under the weight it was hauling. The golden block slid down, vanishing into the opening, and a dull thud indicated that it had made contact with the inner hull. At Lina's signal, Gourry released the ropes, taking a moment to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his forehead. Lina found herself nibbling the fingertip of her glove as the ship sank lower into the white cloud sea. The gentle waves lapping at its sides now threatened to spill into the vessel's gunports; those would have to be boarded up later. It seemed even the birds had gone silent as everyone waited to see what would happen.

With a creaking groan the ship stabilized, bobbing up and down in the white cloud water.

"Alright, it worked!" Lina declared, pumping a fist triumphantly into the air. "You got it on the first try. Good job Gourry!"

"That's Miss Lina for you!" Amelia added, eliciting a chuckle from Zelgadis.

For his part, Gourry mostly looked relieved to be praised. Though he didn't care much for gold beyond what was necessary to pay for dinner, he wasn't looking forward to being on the receiving end of Lina's wrath should he screw up.

* * *

...

* * *

With the treasure secured, work on the ship continued well into the evening. The ship's sails were pockmarked with blackened holes, burned into them by the searing ashes spawned from Lina's volcanic clash with Shiki. The front-most mast sported a fracture, and was barely remaining standing. The boards they had removed in order to lower the gold into the hold needed to be replaced, so they could have an intact deck to walk on. The weight of the gold itself was causing the hull to spring a multitude of tiny leaks; its pressure needed to be distributed more evenly across the length of the ship's spine. And the Golden Lion Pirates' jolly roger was a hideous, stylized caricature of their captain's wild golden mane; it went without saying that that had to go.

Luke and Milina rejoined the group, and word began to spread that the blue sea dwellers were preparing to leave. Soon, sky islanders were appearing, arriving in ones and twos at first, growing into a steady trickle until a large crowd had gathered on the shore. Quarry workers volunteered their skills and their tools; wooden scaffolds to help repair hard-to-reach places and great carving blades to cut out chunks of wood with methodical precision. Seamstresses worked to patch the tattered sails, and the broken mast was reset and wrapped with an iron sheet, which the donor claimed was the "king of iron sheets". Fishermen arrived with their harvests, and as construction neared completion, the heavenly aromas of sky seafood wafted through the air. The work drew down, and the attentions of all who had gathered began to shift toward the building banquet.

"Whoa! This is great!" Lina exclaimed as the juice of the conache melon washed over her tongue, spreading its light, sweet taste around her mouth. She hugged the odd, square-shaped melon closer, drained its contents in a single gulp, then ran to rejoin the banquet. As she roamed through the crowd, sampling the myriad of foods being offered, Lina spotted Zelgadis, who was biting enthusiastically into a glistening hunk of sky lobster meat. Even the naturally taciturn Milina could hardly conceal her shock at the exquisite flavors sky islanders' cuisine. Only Xellos was absent from the festivities, but as a Mazoku, he didn't need to eat anyway.

"Here Mr. Zelgadis, these pretty good." Amelia offered.

"This octopus over here is pretty good too."

"Don't eat the whole thing Gourry! Leave some of that fish for me!"

"What are you talking about Lina? Food goes bad if you don't eat it fast!"

"Hey Gourry! I grabbed all of these for myself!"

"Haven't you ever heard of the word restraint Lina?!"

"What do you think you're doing! Let go! Gimme!"

"..."

"You know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we set out the morning."

* * *

...

* * *

It was just after dawn, all was quiet along the shores of Upper Yard. The celebrations had lasted well into the night, and most of the exhausted partygoers wouldn't be up for hours. A morning mist filled the sky and all the crevices below, scattering the sun's dawning rays, dampening every surface it touched and imbuing the air with a crisp and refreshing quality.

"Is that the last of it Amelia?" Zelgadis asked, leaning over the ship's railing to look.

"Yeah, if we take any more food, I don't think the ship's going to be able to keep floating." Amelia replied, dropping a barrel onto the deck with a heavy thud. She paused to dust off her hands, then hefted the container over a shoulder, moving to stack it atop others piled at the aft of the ship. Leaning against the central mast, Gourry was snoring blissfully, while Lina paced around him, moving with twitchy, jittery energy.

"There you are!" Lina jabbed an accusing finger as Milina and Luke emerged from the treeline, accompanied by a trio of sky islanders.

"You're late! I had half a mind to just sail away without you!"

"Shaddap! You're noisy!" Luke jumped immediately to his partner's defense. "Milina was finishing up something important."

"Important? And just what was so important that you would..."

Lina's voice trail off as she noticed the young girl lagging at the back of the group, and the pale ball of light held gingerly between her tiny, cupped hands.

"No way!" Lina remarked. "Did you just teach her Lighting?"

"Well, we spent some time yesterday too." Milina replied, smirking. Invoking a Levitation, she glided smoothly onto the ship's deck, followed closely by Luke. The sails were unfurled, expanding as they caught a draft, and with a creaking groan, the ship glided across the white cloud sea. Behind them, the three islanders boarded a sail-less, four-seated boat, which zoomed past with a soft buzz, guiding the way toward Cloud's End.

* * *

...

* * *

"Until next time." Milina said, giving Gan Fall, Wiper and Aisa a nod and a light smile. To her back, the magnificent gate of Cloud's End loomed high, marking the edge of the pure white sea. A swift current lapped at the ship's sides, pulling the anchor chain taut against its fastening.

"You guys take care of yourselves!" Luke added with a wave. "And as for us, our journey of love will continue!"

"Not of love." Milina cut in. "But it will continue nonetheless."

"Come back and visit some day! We'll never forget you!" Aisa called with hands cupped over her mouth.

"We'll definitely return for the rest of that gold!" Lina declared.

"Now make sure you fold up your sails and hold on tight during the drop." Gan Fall urged, a smile spreading across his face.

Sails were furled and the anchor was hauled onto deck, freeing the ship to be carried along by the rushing current. The shadow cast by the gate zoomed overhead as the vessel slid easily down the cloud-water ramp.

"Say, did anyone else notice something odd?" Xellos remarked, appearing suddenly on the deck. "Or was I the only one that heard him say 'drop'?"

Excitement was eclipsed by panic as the ramp fell away, exposing the blue sea far below, giving the group a glimpse of just how literal Cloud's End was. A moment of stillness, and the ship began to plummet, while the crew held on for dear life. Cloud layers flashed past, each one swifter than the last.

Lina was the first to come to her senses, summoning a Raywing around herself, but rather than fly away to safety, she directed the spell downward, attempting to enter the ship's hold.

"Save the gold if it's the last thing you do!" She screamed hoarsely, struggling to be heard over the howling of the wind. A high-pitched whistle from above joined the shrieking chorus.

A great shadow passed over the ship, cast by a colossal cephalopod that exploded from the clouds, seizing the vessel in its limbs and inflating its rubbery body. Milina raised a hand, prepared to strike it with a Freeze Bullet, but found herself being thrown against the deck as the ship's downward plunge came to a halt. She heard a surprised yelp from the starboard side as Lina overshot, rocketing past the suddenly stabilized vessel.

"Milina are you hurt?" Luke rushed to her aid. Half-heartedly brushed off his advances, Milina stared up, eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh, what happened." Amelia climbed to her feet, nursing a bruise that had formed on her head.

"Strange as it may seem." Zelgadis replied. "I think that octopus is going to float us down."

"Whoa." Lina gaped, drifting back onto the deck. "It's like an octopus-balloon."

As the only member of the group who couldn't fly, Gourry had wrapped himself around the ship's main mast during the initial jolt of terror. At last, sensing that the danger was over, he released his hold with a sigh of relief.

As Milina studied the strange creature that was their savior, she noticed a flash of light emanating from Cloud's End, refracting off the sea spray that gathered there and forming a short-lived rainbow that arched over the gate. Another second flash appeared, and third. It was the Lighting spell she had taught, shortened to a momentary burst, a final farewell from their newfound friends.

"Hey that girl's not half bad." Lina remarked, picking up on the significance of the signal as well. "You know I'm a pretty well-known instructor in certain guild branches, and when we go back for the rest of that gold, I should teach that kid some real magic."

"Er…" Amelia started. "You're not thinking about teaching her the Dragon Slave right?"

* * *

...

* * *

"Wiper what's wrong?" Aisa asked, taking note of the Shandian warrior's melancholy as Gan Fall steered their dial boat back onto the lift. It was not an emotion borne of goodbyes, but something that seethed and burned at his insides.

"It's not as if I'm not grateful." Wiper choked out through gritted teeth. "But look at what has happened to our land."

"So much of our vearth… destroyed!"

Aisa could comprehend his anguish. Nearly half of Upper Yard had been razed during the battle's opening moves, either vaporized entirely or reduced to a lifeless hellscape of blackened ashes and surreal, twisting glass. As the strongest warrior who had sworn to defend the sacred vearth, Wiper's pride would not allow him to detach himself from this tragedy.

Aisa glanced at Gan Fall as the lift stopped at the White-White Sea, and watched as the old man raised his arm and waved in a seemingly random direction. She turned to look, and recoiled in horror.

A colossal mantis soared over the rolling sea surface, its buzzing wings kicking up a spray of white cloud water. Four spindly legs dangled behind its long, thin body, and the creature cocked its head, regarding them with its bulbous, staring eyes. It was one of Shiki's monsters that had ravaged the remnants of Upper Yard.

Sitting beside Aisa, Wiper tensed. He was not carrying any of his dial-based arsenal, and should the creature elect to attack, they would be defenseless.

"It's alright." Gan Fall reassured from the driver's seat, noting the apprehension of his two passengers. Taking in his words, Aisa realized that she could feel no hostility emanating from the beast. Indeed, when she squinted her eyes, she could see the great insect returning the old man's greeting, waving back with one clawed forelimb. It buzzed away, fading into the veil of white.

The sun climbed higher, and the morning fog pulled away, revealing that the great mantis had come to rest upon the shore of a second island. Without the support of their master, Shiki's floating territories had plunged into the White-White sea, where they had drifted and collided, combining into a single, nearly contiguous landmass. Some areas sported lush jungles, filled with the raucous calls of countless tropical birds. Others were dominated by searing deserts, where the air shimmered and warped in the scorching heat haze. Forests whose leaves reddened with the onset of fall lay beside fields whose flowers bloomed in vivacious splendor to welcome the coming of spring. A proud, snow-capped mountain range towered high above all else, crowning the apex of the new island.

Aisa looked on as the corners off Wiper's mouth curled up into a genuine smile. The expression looked so unnatural.

There was more vearth there than they had ever imagined.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And that's a wrap on the Strong World Arc. A new arc proceeds in the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9 - Storm and Strike

**Chapter 9: Storm and Strike****  
**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Marshall D. Teach watched with a sick, leering grin as the hapless townsfolk scattered before him, like frightened mice before a predator. Behind him, his crew marched to his pace, hauling bulging sacks overflowing with plundered jewelry and valuables.

Teach stooped down, scooping up a copy of the morning's newspaper from the town's paved dirt road. The new age was approaching fast, and every passing day promised new and exciting events. He unrolled the wad between his hands, and scanned the contents of the front page.

"Zehahahaha!" Teach could not help but guffaw out loud at the news.

"Have a good look at this you guys!" He exclaimed, shoving the paper into Van Augur's hands. "The Marines finally caught up to him! That Shiki was always plotting something; I really wondered what he was up to for all these years after he vanished from the old man's boat. It looks like he's finally met his match!"

"Golden Lion Shiki is the only prisoner to ever have escaped from Impel Down." Lafitte said, walking behind his captain with a spring in his step. "But I don't think it's very likely that he'll be able to get away a second time."

"The old legends are falling, one after another." Augur added. "Even they cannot escape from the clutches of fate."

Teach licked his lips in anticipation. It had been a really long time since he'd seen that old geezer. He couldn't wait.

"Come on men!" He waved. "Prepare to set sail for Water Seven!"

"But captain!" Burgess grumbled. "It's been four days since the Straw Hats ran wild over Enies Lobby! Do you really think we can still catch them at Water Seven?"

"Water Seven isn't far from here." Augur replied. "We should arrive by tomorrow if we depart immediately."

"Then it's all up to the whims of fate." Doc Q nodded. Covering his mouth with a sleeve of his coat, the doctor launched into a violent coughing fit, and then slumped down with a pained expression, laying his cheek against the back of his loyal horse.

"Of course we're going!" Teach ordered, his tone brooking no room for argument. "Get ready, because we're about to get busy."

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out, interrupting the crew's preparations. "Hold it right there Teach! I've been looking for you."

Teach paused, scanning the empty streets before pinpointing the speaker; a solitary figure crouched upon a nearby rooftop. The rest of his crew followed the direction of their captain's gaze. There was not one among them who didn't grasp the severity of the situation, and for a moment, they stood together in silence.

"Oh! Ace! Commander!" Teach broke the calm, warmly greeting the Second Division Commander as he had done so many times in the past.

"Don't call me 'commander' again." Ace chided, tilting the brim of his hat upward to cast his glare directly at Teach. "That word should be reserved for people you respect. Don't think you can mock me."

"Ah, you must be the infamous 'Fire Fist' Ace." Laffitte said.

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you." Ace returned the greeting.

"I see you've used this time well, and become a pretty decent captain in your own right." He continued. "Marshall D. Teach, captain of the Blackbeard Pirates."

"Jeez, Ace! I haven't seen you in ages!" Teach smiled. "So what's going on? How did you know I was here?"

"Teach, let's cut the idle chitchat." Ace replied. "You took a man's life, so you should know quite well why I'm here, having lived twice as long as I have. Isn't that right?"

"Ahh, I get it. But let me say something first." Teach brushed off the implied threat. Of course, he knew perfectly well why Ace had come; murdering a crewmate was the biggest crime one could commit on a pirate ship. After he fled, he had even heard rumors now and then that a member of the Whitebeards was in pursuit. Yet his persistent smile stretched even wider.

After all, he and Ace had been good friends back on Whitebeard's ship, hadn't they? More than once, they had even saved each others lives during the harsh battles against rival crews in the New World. Perhaps Ace's coming was an opportunity. Maybe the Second Division Commander could be brought around to his way. To be a pirate was to be free after all; free, even from the bonds of morality.

"What do you say, Ace? Why don't you come onto my boat?" Teach offered. "Join my crew and seize the world with me! I've already planned my rise to power! Whitebeard's era is over and I'll become the next Pirate King! For starters, I'm going to Water Seven right now to kill Straw Hat Luffy, so I can give in his head as a present for the government!"

"Luffy? What did you say?" Ace's eyes narrowed.

"What? Do you know him?"

"Another reason I can't let you go free." Ace pronounced. "He's my younger brother!"

"And as for becoming one of your crewmates…" Ace paused as if considering the idea, standing composed as a trio of bullets passed harmlessly through his body.

"I won't."

Teach blinked once in surprise and opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. Standing behind their captain, the Blackbeard Pirates tensed in anticipation. Negotiations were over.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina moaned and slumped against the ship's railing. They had launched off from Cloud's End no later than noon, but now the sky was beginning to darken. And although they had drifted for much of the day, the ocean below didn't look much closer than before, just a monotonous blue backdrop broken by a handful of small, dark spots. Lina almost wished they could just fall the rest of the way, before she died of boredom.

"So assuming for a moment that this 'ancient weapon' we're looking for is really there." Luke struck up a conversation, one that they really needed to have. "What do you two plan to do with it?"

Lina glanced at Gourry, who was standing at the front of the ship, nibbling on a piece of fish and staring idly at something below.

"We're after the weapon to use it." Lina replied. "And you guys?"

"Well," Luke held out his empty hands, "I guess I'm in the market for a new weapon now, so you could say the same for us."

It was a situation that she had been hoping to avoid. The two of them were after the same thing now, and with only one weapon, there was no way to divide the spoils. No way, unless she could persuade him to take a second option.

"How about selling the weapon to us?" Lina offered. "Come on, I'll pay you five hundred and thirty copper coins for exclusive rights."

"What? Five hundred and thirty copper coins?" Judging from Luke's dumbfounded expression, he wasn't convinced. "You just took a block of gold from the sky island, and you'll only part with five hundred and thirty copper coins?"

"That's right. Quite a bargain, don't you think?" Lina pressed.

"A bargain?" Luke repeated, clear disbelief in his voice.

"I'll have you know," Lina continued, "that Gourry here handed over a very impressive sword for just five hundred and fifty, though I don't have it any more. I can't pay you more than that for an ancient weapon whose properties we don't even know."

"I never did that!" Gourry shouted back from the front of the ship.

"Hey Gourry! Just whose side are you on?" Lina shot Gourry a venomous glare to shut him up. Why did his memory have to be crystal clear on this one damnable topic?

"Depending on what it does," Luke leaned back, "maybe I'd be willing to sell it for five hundred and thirty billion."

Lina scowled. Who the hell did this guy think he was, putting up such outrageous numbers.

"How about this." Luke suggested. "We'll join forces until we get to the location. If we get there and the weapon's still there, first side to lay their hands on it gets it. Losers give up, no complaining."

After a brief contemplation, Lina found herself making a mumbled noise of agreement. If they were going to be on a ship together in this foreign world, the crew couldn't afford to have any infighting erupting between its members.

_The crew and its members._ It surprised Lina how easily she slipped into this line of thought. Yes, they were going to be together for the rest of this ordeal, for better or for worse.

"Alright, I can live with that." She said. "A truce until this whole thing is over."

"By the way, where did that tablet say the weapon was anyway?" Luke asked, his expression betraying his sudden realization that he had overlooked a crucial detail.

"Some place called Fishman Island." Lina replied. She blanched slightly at the thought.

The information Zelgadis obtained had identified Fishman Island as resting somewhere on the eastern end of the Grand Line region. They had heard Shiki confirm their entrance into this region, so now it was just a matter of sailing east toward their goal. Lina reached into a pouch and withdrew her compass.

"What the?!" She cried.

Though the ship's facing was holding steady, the compass needle had gone wild, pivoting rapidly around its base, stopping and starting, even reversing direction seemingly at random. The initial surprise faded, and Lina realized that it probably wasn't the fault of the compass; the needle was just a piece of magnetic metal, no ifs, ands or buts. That left magnetic anomalies as an explanation. Such irregularities sometimes appeared in areas with high concentrations of ambient magic, although she had never seen one as intense as this before.

Lina put the compass away, replacing it with a crystal globe which she laid onto the deck. Closing her eyes, she spoke the words of power to activate the device.

Again, her instrument failed. The four rays of light projected from the edges of the sphere should have lined up with the four cardinal directions, but like the compass needle, they spun uncontrollably about, flickering and flashing, even overlapping one another at times. This meant that even the region's ley lines were in a state of flux.

Lina sunk deep into thought. There were only a few things she could think of that could be responsible for what she was seeing. The Giga Slave was one. The first time she had cast it, the chaotic spell had unmade an entire bay, reducing it to a broken, colorless waste where no living thing would ever grow again.

She dismissed that thought from her mind. In a world that knew nothing of sorcery, it was just not possible. But if not that, then perhaps-

* * *

...

* * *

Lina didn't know how long she sat on the deck, buried in her thoughts. She'd been doing that a lot lately. As much as she hated to admit it, there was no denying that she bore at least some of the responsibility for getting everyone stuck in this world.

"Hey Lina, aren't those battleships down there?" Gourry asked.

Gourry's words snapped her out of her stupor. A quick glance over the side revealed the same scene as before, but she knew better than to question Gourry's senses.

"If you knew there were enemy ships down there, why didn't you say something sooner?" Lina demanded.

"Enemies?" Gourry asked confusedly. "But I thought Marines were pretty nice people."

"Things have changed you idiot." Lina replied. "If you recall, I have a sixty five million bounty on my head. If we drift down there, you can bet the Marines will try to arrest us."

"And all of my hard-earned gold… gone!" She added in a softer voice, with a few sniffles included for effect.

And there was no way she was having any of that.

Lina whipped through the ship like a whirlwind, sweeping through the cabin where Amelia, Zelgadis and Milina were resting and rousing them from their idleness. Outside on the deck, the men unfurled the sails, which flapped gently in the evening breeze.

With a gesture, she invoked a Bomb di Wind, sending a gust of pressurized air into the ship's sails. The sudden impulse nearly threw her to the ground, and she shot out an arm to steady herself; she'd forgotten that they were in the air. Stretched above the mast, the octopus balloon swayed precariously.

Fiery copper hair whipping to and fro in the wind, Lina noted wryly that their sudden movement had attracted unwanted attention. Though they could hardly expect to keep up with her airspeed, the Marine battleships had spotted her and were entering pursuit, trailing long wakes behind them as they cut across the sea surface.

Lina fought down the urge to simply annihilate the fleet, and threw another blast of wind into the sails. But something was strange. Although they were moving much faster than their waterbound pursuers, the battleships actually looked larger and clearer than before. Already, she could make out the towering masts that jutted from their decks, and green-painted hulls bristling with cannons.

Forming her thumbs and pointer fingers into an approximation of a rectangle, Lina held her hands over her head, positioning the octopus right in the center. A noise halfway between a cough and a squeak escaped from her throat.

"Hey guys we've got trouble!" Lina announced, drawing a round of stares. "This octopus is shrinking!"

"Now that you mention it, it's definitely smaller than when we left Cloud's End." Zelgadis said, raising a protractor to his eye. "The momentum from your spell must have made it lose some air."

Then, measuring the angle down to the pursuing ships, he added, "We're going to have to shed some weight if we want to stay in the air. If we don't, we'll land within range of those cannons."

"Oh, no you don't." Lina interjected. "There is no way I'm giving up any of this gold that I worked so hard for."

Invoking a Levitation, she drifted over the side, adjusting her trajectory to hover beside the deck. Now that she was in control of her own momentum, Lina could feel how quickly they were descending; they'd be in the air for only a few more minutes, if even that. She raised her hands and took aim at their pursuers, magical energy gathering at her fingertips.

"Miss Lina!" Amelia pleaded over the rush of wind. "If you destroy those ships, your bounty will go even higher!"

"I know that!" Lina shouted back. "I just wanna get these guys to stop chasing us!"

She cast her spell; Vice Freeze was the strongest known water spell castable by humans, the icy counterpart of Burst Flare. She watched the frigid missile streak down, blossoming into a jagged iceberg on the ocean surface that swallowed the bow of the leading ship.

The two remaining ships were undeterred, replying with a thudding cannonade. A wave of Flare Arrows detonated the cannonballs in midair, and Lina looked back to see that Luke had joined the battle. Milina followed after, striking the battleships' paddle wheels with icy blasts, stopping them completely. A blast of wind from Zelgadis sent their own ship soaring, and soon their immobilized pursuers vanished over the horizon.

And it was just as well; they had fallen low enough that Lina could make out the faint glimmers of moonlight reflecting off the waves on the ocean's surface. Still stretched over the mast, the octopus had shrunk to little more than an elongated tube, providing barely enough lift to keep the ship from free-falling.

"Everyone hold on tight!" Lina called to the others still on deck. "You're about to hit water!"

The ship slammed into the waves, bobbing and swaying, soaking the deck with a spray of salty sea water. The impact jostled the octopus from its grip, and with a rubbery snap it relinquished its hold, spiraling through the air like a leaking balloon before landing with a wet plop. Now little bigger than a person's head, it almost looked cute.

"Bye-bye Mr. Octopus!" Amelia scooped up the slimy creature, carrying it to the railing and releasing it into the water. She waved, and it returned the gesture with a raised tentacle before slipping beneath the waves.

"Hey, what'd you do that for Amelia?" Lina poked. Then she added, only half-jokingly, "I was going to eat that."

* * *

...

* * *

Kuzan covered his mouth and yawned as he pedaled across the sea. It was the dead of night and the soft, rhythmic crack of newly formed ice beneath his rims was making him drowsy.

"Oh, excuse me, just passing through." Kuzan waved to a gaggle of curious sea animals, who had probably never seen a human riding a bicycle over the water before. The ocean air wasn't doing his bicycle's frame any favors; the wheels were getting squeakier by the day. At least the assignment was nearing its end.

Shiki's capture had more than alleviated his superiors' anger at his earlier indiscretion. Sengoku himself was particularly pleased; the Fleet Admiral viewed Shiki as his personal nemesis from the previous era, similar to Garp's former relationship with Roger. There would be an awards ceremony once he returned to headquarters, commendations given out for the capture of such a notorious pirate. Kuzan briefly considered not attending before dismising the thought.

After all, he hadn't really been responsible for the Flying Pirate's defeat. Shiki had - quite literally - fallen into his lap, bruised, burned and nearly dead. Someone up in the sky had accomplished what the Marines had not in two decades.

Kuzan reminded himself why he had come. There were reports on the fleet's eastern patrol route of an attack by some sort of flying ship, but it wouldn't do to break the formation, in case more pirates came down. Thus, he had reluctantly volunteered to investigate himself.

Silently, he reviewed the list of pirates that his fleet had captured. Of Shiki's high profile subordinates, veteran captains "Iron Mammoth" Dozle and "Demon Cannon" Tomie remained at large, along with his chief scientist Indigo and the new recruit, "Pink Sorceress" Lina. What was troubling him was that while the former three had been members of Shiki's fleet since Roger's era, the latter was a complete enigma. Background checks revealed nothing, save for some strange incidents in East Blue, and the recruit had made her fame with an assault on a slave trading post that somehow resulted in the disappearance of the entire island without a trace. It was a sucker's bet that her presence had something to do with all this.

The sixty five million beli bounty was just an initial offer; simply joining the Golden Lion Pirates in such a manner merited at least that much, and the committee at headquarters would be ready to raise it again at any hint of trouble. Already, the worst generation of rookie pirates on record was gathering at Sabaody, set to surge into the New World almost simultaneously. The Marines would do well to keep an eye out for any more of these upstarts.

Squinting his eyes, Kuzan spotted the silhouette of a lone battleship, barely visible against the dim light. Approaching, he noticed that it had been immobilized, its frontmost section embedded in a great jagged chunk of ice.

The strange sight piqued his interest. These were Grand Line Marines, the best of the lot; Kuzan didn't think they would be incompetent to enough to ram an iceberg at full speed. Plus, the shape of that ice formation looked decidedly unnatural.

"My, oh my." Kuzan said, pulling up alongside the ship's port side. "What happened to you guys?"

"Admiral sir!" The ship's captain saluted. "We were pursuing the flying ship when something struck the water ahead of us and created this block of ice. The two remaining ships have been immobilized by ice as well, just up ahead."

Immobilized by ice? Created? Curious and curiouser, but the time for pondering was later.

Kuzan looked up at the sky, his navigational senses tingling.

"Tell the other ships to give up the chase, and I'll help you get this off." Kuzan ordered. "Return to the fleet once you've finished your essential check-ups, we've got a little something coming in."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina jerked reflexively at the sharp crack of wood behind her. Turning, she noticed a ball of ice embedded in the deck, the wooden boards splintering around it. A hailstone. A hailstone the size of a fist.

The passage of a second chunk was accompanied by the tearing of cloth as it ripped through a sail on the way down. A third smashed into the railing, shattering the fragile handles. A fourth, a lump the size of a head, crashed through the roof of the cabin.

Lina gazed up at the sky, and a gulp of saliva inched its way down her throat.

"Gourry, Zelgadis, fold the sails." She barked out orders. "Amelia, put up a barrier around the ship."

Positioning herself underneath the main mast, she added, "We'll switch off until the storm is over."

Several minutes passed before the rain of ice started to abate, the clatter of hailstones against the shimmering barrier decreasing in frequency. Exhausted, Amelia sat sprawled in a corner, supporting her head with one arm while Milina took over the maintenance of their shield.

The wind began to pick up, blowing the falling hail into slanted paths, causing the sea surface to churn and heave. Milina winced as a particularly large wave slammed against one side of her barrier. At this rate, even with the five of them taking turns, they wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

"Gourry, unfold the sails." Lina ordered. "Milina, once that's done, lower the barrier. We'll ride this part out."

The next swell crashed into the ship's hull, spilling onto the deck, and a sharp crack from the hold told Lina one of the wooden supports had broken.

"Luke, go down there and see what you can do about that."

Another wave rose before them, taller than even the ship's central mast, its shadow stretched long by the flashes of lightning behind it. At Lina's direction, Zelgadis invoked a Buday Wind, tearing through the wall of water and flinging their battered ship through the opening.

Lina breathed a sigh of relief when the gap slammed shut behind them, leaving the ship unmolested. She then cringed as the main mast snapped from the strain, crashing into the front of the deck. A sudden surge caused the ship to pitch to one side, dumping the loose timber into the sea.

Another shadow passed over the ship, and, turning, Lina tried to wrap her mind around what her eyes were seeing. The ocean itself was spiraling upward, forming a towering pillar of water between sea and sky. A vortex churned at its base, drawing in everything around it. And the ship was getting closer.

With torn sails and broken masts, there was no getting away normally. That left them with with just the abnormal option.

Ignoring her panicking crewmates, Lina called upon the power of Ruby Eye, the magic erupting from her hands as the familiar crimson missile. It pierced into the heart of the cyclone and detonated, flashing red, then white. The column of water collapsed, its connection broken.

The violent rocking of the ship reminded her that the storm had not diminished one bit; they weren't out of trouble yet.

Something cold and wet struck the back of Lina's head. Wheeling about in a fury, she identified the culprit as a fish, now flopping about on the ship's deck, probably launched from the cyclone by her spell. Her pent up frustration bubbled to the surface.

"Can't you see I have enough crap to deal with here?" She hollered, punting the unfortunate creature into the water.

"What the heck is wrong with this place?!"

* * *

...

* * *

"We need a new ship." Lina moaned, lying sprawled on the ship's deck. The warmth of the morning rays on her face was a sensation she'd thought she would never feel again. Somehow, they had made it through.

"We... need a new ship." Gourry nodded, sitting slumped against the cabin door. With broken masts, torn sails and a myriad of tiny leaks patched up with ice magic, it was as if all the repairs they'd done before departing the sky island were for naught.

"We need a new ship." Luke agreed. Without the usual means of propulsion, all they could do was row. And with no sense of direction, their chances of finding land were pretty slim.

"Amelia, do you see anything?" Lina asked.

"Mmm, I don't see anything yet." Amelia replied from her seat on top of the cabin. Pausing for a moment, she added, "Wait, there's something just ahead."

She passed her telescope to Zelgadis, who stared through them at the indicated point.

"It's a Marine ship." He said.

Lina bolted upright at the confirmation. Finally, some good news.

"Alright crew, full speed ahead!" She announced.

Soon, the entire party was roused into action, moving into position to perform their roles. Oars were handed to Gourry and Zelgadis, while Lina took up a position at the head of the ship. Gazing through the spyglass, she could just barely make out the shape of the enemy vessel, looking more like a green blob at this distance.

Approaching closer, she noted some light damage to its frame, along with a complete absence of any crew on deck.

"Looks like that thing's abandoned." Lina said. "Maybe it got caught in bad weather too."

Gesturing as if nocking a bow, Lina sent a volley of icy darts into the warship's hull, sealing up its portholes. Better safe than sorry.

"Slow us down a bit Gourry, and get ready to board."

Lina paused, waiting for an affirmation, hearing only the creaking of a door being opened behind her. She spun around, opening her mouth to give him an earful.

Her eyes widened fractionally as they fell upon an intruder standing atop what remained of their ship's bridge. A tall man dressed in a casual black shirt and shorts, whose hair was curled up at the sides, resembling the curved horns of a bull.

A small gasp escaped from her throat at the sight of what was behind him. A doorway in the air itself, and beyond it, a distorted, green-tinted facsimile of the outside world.

The intruder stretched a hand behind his back and slapped the door shut, the distortion smoothing over as if it had never been there at all.

"Oh great, not another weirdo." Lina raised her hands combatively, glancing around to confirm that everyone else had noticed. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Hm, it's just a couple of pirates." The intruder replied.


	10. Chapter 10 - Boiling Point

**Chapter 10: Boiling Point****  
**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina fixed her eyes on their opponent, watching through her peripheral vision as her allies shifted into combat positions. Gourry stepped toward his left, placing himself between her and the intruder, gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles were white. Zelgadis inched forward, fingering the pommel of his own blade, as well as the guns that he'd kept after they destroyed the slaver island. Luke was still getting over his old habits, reaching reflexively for a weapon that was no longer there, before stopping himself with a grimace.

For his part, the intruder seemed entirely unconcerned with their preparations, his face fixed in an expression of mild boredom. What a cocky bastard.

"Hey Lina, is this guy a monster?" Gourry asked.

"Mazoku, Gourry. They're called Mazoku." Lina corrected. She paused, briefly considering the possibility.

At the very least, she could tell what he was thinking. The doorway that the man had stepped through strongly reminded her of the astral portals commonly used by low-ranking Mazoku. But the killing aura that she'd come to associate with them was absent from this foe, and the availability of an easier explanation only strengthened her convictions.

"This guy is a human." Lina concluded. "He probably just did that with his Devil Fruit power."

"Correct." The intruder replied in his monotonous baritone voice. "I ate the Door Door Fruit. Thus, I have become a door man."

"A door man?" Luke snorted. "So you're saying your Devil Fruit made you the guy that stands at the entrance to an inn, and helps people carry their stuff?"

The bull-horned man gave no response, no indication that he had been moved at all by Luke's remark.

"It is unfortunate for you that you have encountered us today." He continued dispassionately. "Although we of the CP9 are no longer agents of the government, by attacking us, you pirates have invited retribution upon yourselves. My fellow agents will be arriving shortly, and you are no match for the power of our Six Styles techniques."

Lina glanced at the ship that they were planning - still planning - to hijack, sitting a good distance away across the water. Unless these companions of his were planning to swim the whole way…

She shut that thought from her head. Even without sorcery, the possibility that they had abilities allowing them to cross the sea could not be ruled out.

"You sure talk big, don't you?" Lina shot back, orange sparks flickering between her loosely cupped hands. If more of these guys were coming, then there was nothing else to say.

"Fine! Let's see what you've got!"

Lina swept her hands outward and flung a spread of Flare Arrows at their opponent, hoping to take him by surprise with an aggressive display of magic. She figured he would be forced to dodge upward, leaving him open to a follow-up attack by the others.

She was surprised when the man simply stood in place, his body bending easily around the projectiles, slipping between the gaps in their paths like fluttering paper.

Taking back the initiative, the bull-man rushed forward, a blur of black darting across the deck. The pale ray of an Elmekia Lance struck the empty air where he had been but moments before. Dashing around the remnants of the central mast and weaving past the crew, the man closed the distance to Lina in an instant. She jumped back as a blade streaked through the air in a downward arc before her, followed by the sound of clashing steel.

Lina regained her balance and looked up to see Gourry repositioned before her, having parried the bull-man's attack. The swordsman segued instantly into a second slash, and their opponent withdrew, somersaulting back to the ship's bridge. Lina searched him for the weapon that she'd heard clashing against Gourry's sword, and to her surprise, found none. Instead, a shallow cut could be seen on his forearm, where his bare skin had made contact with the blade.

"That's a pretty neat trick." Gourry called, squaring his stance again. "So you kick off the ground ten times at once to make yourself move faster."

"Very observant." The other man complimented. He glanced at his wound, where a thin stream of red was flowing, then added, "And to break through my Iron Skin, if only a little, means that your skill level is above that of an average pirate."

Lina narrowed her eyes. 'Six Styles', the man had said just before the fighting began. Bending his body, the vanishing speed, and hardness enough to match a sword's cutting edge with nothing but exposed skin. And who knew what other tricks he had in store.

Lina mumbled a curse under her breath. Forget Plan A, that involved an abandoned ship. Plan B was also shot to hell; they were expecting to fight some storm-tossed pirates or marines at most, not a team of crazy martial artists. And with the fight taken to their own ship before they had even begun to depart, the amount of destructive power she could throw out was severely limited. They were probably in the area of Plan D or E by now.

Their opponent kicked off the deck and dashed for Gourry, aiming to finish the swordsman off first. Gourry's weapon was a blur of motion, and crimson lines appeared on the other man's arms, shoulders and cheek. Lina backed away from the furious melee, but she could find no gaps to hit their opponent without catching Gourry as well.

Standing his ground against the wave of attacks, the bull-man gripped Gourry's sword hilt with one hand, forcing it away and sweeping a palm over the swordsman's face.

"W-what's going on?!" Gourry stammered, stumbling back in surprise.

Lina stopped, taking a moment to process what her eyes were seeing. One section of Gourry's head was rotating by itself with a grating, wooden clack, carrying his eyes and ears with it like a revolving door. With his head literally spinning, Gourry's stance collapsed and their opponent advanced, bending his body around a poorly aimed swing and extending an index finger, drawing back as if he intended to jab the digit into Gourry's throat.

Zelgadis moved, springing at their opponent from the side, brandishing his own sword, blade coated in the deep crimson glow of the Astral Vine. Noticing the danger, the bull-man withdrew his attack and sprang skyward, the deck below splintering beneath the force of his jump.

Lina flung a wall of icy daggers into the bull-man's path. If she could hit him while he was unable to maneuver in midair, the battle would be over.

She had to revise that thought when the man shot out a leg, kicking off from the air with a muted boom and launching himself out of the spell's path.

"Oh that is just bullshit." Lina swore. The others joined in on the attack, sending up a kaleidoscopic barrage of spells, all to no avail, for their foe was no less maneuverable in the air than he was on deck.

"Amelia, see if you can break the curse on Gourry!" She commanded. Gazing upward, she noticed the bull-man draw back his leg, swinging forward it in an exaggerated kicking motion.

Lina extinguished the spark that she had been forming and channeling her magical power into the air around her. A translucent dome formed overhead, and not a moment too soon as the bull-man completed his attack, sending a blade of wind scything downward. The two forces clashed with a shriek of air, but the barrier held, while the deflected cutting force of the attack struck the sea surface, parting the waters and causing the boat to rock.

"I've seen that one before." Lina shouted up.

The noise coming from Gourry's direction came to a halt, as the unnatural energy flows were restored to normal by Amelia's Flow Break. It was reassuring to know they still had some tools for dealing with these powers, and she filed that information away for future reference. Gourry was still dizzy, but he rose back to his feet, quickly regaining his bearings.

Forming another fireball between her cupped hands, Lina pitched it skyward, and the bull-man stepped toward the side, allowing the projectile to pass. With the snap of a finger, the fireball shattered, showering the bull-man with a spray of sparks, and his attention lapsed for a moment.

Luke gestured with a smirk, and molded a dense globe of air around their opponent. The bull-man kicked out, but it was to no avail, and Luke forced the spell downward, sending its captive smashing face-first into the deck. In an instant Milina was there, a spiderweb of icy tendrils expanding out from her palm, freezing the bull-man's limbs to the planks. Then before he could wrench himself free, a pillar of brilliant white erupted around him, stripping away his will and leaving him dazed and half-conscious.

"And that's what you get for messing with Lina Inverse." Lina concluded. Searing white-hot spears of flame shot out from her cupped hands and connected with their dazed and bloody opponent, the backwash flashing ice to steam and disintegrating the wooden deck. She allowed the spell to die once she saw the bull-man's eyes roll back into their sockets, tendrils of smoke seeping from his mouth and nostrils. He was still breathing, but it would be a while before he'd be getting up again.

* * *

...

* * *

A vicious grin stretched across Lucci's face when he noticed the multi-colored pyrotechnics exploding over the battered pirate ship. Blueno had gone ahead, impatient as usual, eager to deal with the distractions quickly so they could continue on toward their destination. But it looked like he wasn't having an easy time of it.

Lucci pushed himself faster, the rhythmic cracks of air beneath his feet increasing in pace, the sea surface a horizontal blur as he raced forward. Perched on his shoulder, Hattori tucked himself lower to avoid being blown off by the gale. A speck of sea foam splashed onto his jacket, and he flicked it off with a finger. At last, some action to dispel his boredom, some blood to sate his thirst.

From behind, Lucci heard the sounds of bones snapping and joints popping into place. He glanced back to see that Jabra had expanded into his hulking hybrid form, bounding through the air on long lupine legs.

"I see you're having trouble keeping up." Lucci remarked scathingly. "It's no wonder you were beaten like a whipped dog by a pirate who didn't even have a bounty."

"You'd better watch your mouth, you cat bastard." The other agent snarled back, the hackles on the back of his neck standing on end. As usual, the mangy mutt didn't have an actual comeback.

The distance to the pirate ship was fast diminishing, and it seemed that the light show had come to an end. Lucci's internal disappointment shifted to mild surprise when his eyes fell upon Blueno's prone and badly burnt body, lying comatose on a blackened patch of deck near the ship's bow. He was still breathing at least.

"Well I'll be damned, Blueno went and got himself beaten again!" Jabra cackled from behind. "Ah, what a fool."

Lucci settled softly on a splintering segment of railing at the bow, while Hattori fluttered off, circling overhead at a safe distance. Jabra landed at the stern of the weather-beaten ship, causing the deck to creak under his weight, eliciting a round of gasps at his animalistic appearance. Lucci quickly scanned the half-dozen colorfully dressed pirates on deck, noting no signs of any weapons that could have been responsible for the lights and Blueno's burns. He had observed earlier that the ship's gun ports were boarded up as well, not that a cannon bombardment could ever touch a Six Styles master anyway.

A red-haired girl stepped forward, pointing a finger menacingly at Blueno's unconscious form.

"Hand over your ship." She demanded confidently.

"And what if I refuse?" Lucci hopped down from the railing, his face flashing into a predatory grin.

Though the girl kept her finger trained on Blueno's unmoving form, she took a step back, and Lucci relished her apprehension.

"You'll give us your ship or I'll blast this guy to smithereens!"

Lucci's response came not in words, but in action. He exploded into motion, snatching up Blueno's unmoving form, then effortlessly hefted the larger man over his shoulder with but a single hand.

"I cannot allow that." Lucci said, turning to face the girl. "While my colleague's defeat is regrettable, I still have need of his abilities. And if you're worried about me fighting with just one arm, don't be. My power level is five times his."

His leg shot out, catching the red-haired girl in her gut and flinging her into the cabin on the opposite end of the ship. The blonde swordsman intercepted him before he could follow up, but Lucci simply parried his blows with a free arm, tensing his muscles until the blade's bite was little more than that of an insect sting.

Jabra launched himself into the fray with a howl on his lips, moving with the bounding, springing motions of his Iron Body Style. The pirates scattered but the agent was faster, striking the blue-skinned gunman with an open-palmed thrust and sending him hurtling into the sea.

A spear of fire from the dark-haired girl slammed into Jabra's back, breaking his stride and drawing a yelp of pain and surprise. He paused and backed away, eyes darting to and fro. Lucci smirked. Now things were getting interesting.

Turning his attention back to his own opponent, Lucci forced his way past the swordsman's guard and wrenched the weapon from his grasp. His own hand flashed out in a blisteringly quick volley of thrusts, his index finger punching holes through swordsman's breastplate and coming away wet and red.

Catching the swordsman by the neck before he could fall, Lucci hoisted the man into the air. If this one had any unusual abilities, he'd have surely used them by now. There was no point in toying overlong with mice.

Lucci paused as a voice interrupted with an "excuse me" from behind, barely above a whisper in volume. Showing nothing of his shock at being snuck up on, he spun around, smooth and practiced, and found himself staring into a pair of violet, slitted pupils, belonging to a purple-haired man cloaked in a black priest's mantle. His eyes were cold. They promised only death.

"Forgive me, Mr. Agent." The man smiled warmly and extended a gloved hand. "But you'll have to let me look at him first."

"And what if I refuse?" Lucci repeated his earlier words. His eyes bored into his opposite, scanning for any sign of whatever lay beneath this light-hearted veneer, but he just couldn't seem to get a read on this one. It was as if he were looking at a blank shell arranged in the shape of a human. This day was getting more and more interesting.

"Well then, that's just no good at all." The mysterious priest shrugged nonchalantly. His outline blurred and shifted in a most unnatural manner.

"I suppose we'll have to settle this disagreement some other way."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina awoke dazedly and staggered to her feet. Her head was pounding, her hair was filled with wooden splinters and her side throbbed where that agent bastard had kicked her.

She blinked for a few moments until her vision cleared. Outside, Luke and Milina looked to be unhurt, and Zelgadis was soaked, but otherwise okay. The three of them were staring up at the sky, where a black blur that had to be Xellos was battling their two boarders. The unconscious bull-man had been abandoned near the stern of the ship, where Amelia was kneeling on the deck, bent over another prone figure. The Saillune princess was deep in concentration and chanting steadily, her hands glowing with a soft white light.

"Gourry!" Lina ran to the fallen swordsman, and a pang of guilt hit her chest when she saw the bloody puncture wounds scattered across his torso. He was injured because of her, because he was protecting her.

She quietly started to breathe again when she saw Gourry's wounds begin to close and disappear, and heard him stirring into consciousness.

From the direction of the Marine ship, two more dots were fast approaching, racing through the air at just above wave height. Within moments, they were close enough to be discerned as humanoid forms, separating and landing at the ship's two ends. Both of the new arrivals stood twice as tall as Lina did, taller than any person she had ever seen before. And as for their appearances...

"Looks like Blueno got himself beat up again, chapapa!" The egg-shaped man at the ship's stern blurted, in a voice that was almost comically high-pitched and childlike despite his heavyset appearance. And... was that a zipper running across his mouth?

"Yoyoi!" The other man thundered from behind, adopting a theatrical pose with one hand extended uncomfortably close to Lina's face. With his other, he hefted the unconscious bull-man over his shoulder.

"Defeated though he may be, the courage displayed by our dear colleague in facing so many is certainly… admirable." He recited.

Lina reminded herself that despite their patent absurdity, that these two were dangerous men. Her sentiment was reinforced when the opponent before her closed his eyes in concentration, and his wild mane of pinkish hair began to wave about like the tendrils of some great sea creature.

* * *

...

* * *

Lucci grimaced as he kicked the air and withdrew from another fruitless exchange. He inspected his forearms, covered in burns inflicted by the black flames of the thing he was fighting. A difficult situation, though not a critical one just yet, for he still had his own Devil Fruit to fall back on.

Across from him, Jabra wasn't faring any better. Rushing to attack, the agent found himself stymied by a wall of distortion before being driven back by a cloud of drilling, stabbing cones.

The thing they were fighting was definitely not human. During his time as a government agent, Lucci had had access to a wealth of top secret information. There was no way a Devil Fruit could be responsible for such a broad array of powers.

Moreover, it didn't bleed like a human during one of the few times he'd managed to land a hit. It didn't recoil like a human either; its retaliation was immediate and unrestrained. Once it had dropped the act, it retained none of the tells that every person carried, and its body language was decidedly alien.

Lucci was reminded of one of Vegapunk's experimental human weapons. Modeled after the Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma, built from human corpses. Pitiless killing machines.

Though unlike them, this one was definitely self-aware.

"What are you?" Lucci asked between kicks, his curiosity getting the better of him. While others might condemn, Lucci found these qualities to be commendable. This was the absence of weakness, freedom from that very human sin.

"Now that's not a very nice thing to say." His opponent replied coyly. "But if you must insist, you may refer to me as Xellos, mysterious priest."

An evasive response, but not an unexpected one.

Lucci glanced down to see Fukuro and Kumadori arriving on the ship's deck, engaging its crew two against four. Even outnumbered, the agents were easily pushing their opponents back, while the pirates played a game of feints to stall for time, and heal the swordsman he had injured.

"And are you the leader of this group?" He questioned again, ducking down to avoid a lashing tendril of shadow.

"Nope!" Xellos chirped, soaring away from a flurry of shearing wind blades. "I wouldn't dream of doing something like that."

Lucci allowed his body to go limp, swaying to avoid the tip of a spinning black cone. "Then why do you follow such a weak crew?"

"Just be patient for a little longer and you might find out." Xellos responded with another non-answer. He paused and drifted back rather than fire off a follow-up attack.

Lucci noticed the reason why when a cannonball slammed into the pirate ship, bursting with a sharp crack and sending up a plume of black smoke. His eyes traced the projectile's path, coming to rest on an unlabeled government ship approaching from the direction opposite his. The battle on deck ground to a halt as well while the combatants reoriented themselves.

The government ship furled its sails, and something flitted up from its deck, zig-zagging through the air toward Lucci's position. A masked man, tall and slim, dressed in an immaculate white suit and and draped in a matching overcoat. A yellow flower-petal beard and a red and white-striped top hat added a bit of color to his appearance, and though he kept his arms folded, their relative positions betrayed him as a member of the Longarm Tribe.

The implications were not wasted. A Six Styles user, borne by an unlabeled ship, his identity concealed behind a mask. Only the two secret divisions of Cipher Pol fit these parameters, and with the current CP9 having gone rogue, it meant that this man was a member of the 'World's Strongest Intelligence'. An agent of CP0.

"The Zeroth." Jabra gasped, having arrived at the same conclusion. "What are they doing here?"

Lucci remained silent as the masked agent came to a halt before him. Glancing down, he noted Xellos descending toward the deck, where Fukuro and Kumadori were gawking in unconcealed shock.

"My my, what a surprise to find you all here." The Aigis spy spoke, his voice practically oozing with disdain.

"And what a disappointment to come across the former agents of the Ninth, skirmishing with pirates like some petty officer of the Marines."

Lucci said nothing, keeping both eyes fixed on his counterpart as the masked man glided through the air around him, the motions of his feet so minute as to be practically unnoticeable.

"Though to be frank, at least one good thing has come out of the Enies Lobby debacle. The organization of which you lead the last and - let us not mince words - worst generation has finally come under review. Spies that can't spy, killers that couldn't kill a single member of a single pirate crew, a gaggle of misbegotten misfits lead by the most demented of them all."

"But don't feel that all this rests solely upon your shoulders." The agent remarked dryly. "CP9 was a worthless venture from the moment of its inception. The eight official branches of Cipher Pol are more than capable of handling matters in Paradise and the Blues, and an agent of Aigis can be dispatched to deal with the few that are beyond them."

"And what might this agent of Aigis be doing here today?" Lucci asked.

"You mean you haven't realized?" The masked man replied. "Aside from the fact that your little band has become a political liability, it has fallen to us to complete the mission that you failed to accomplish. The mission that you spent 5 years failing to accomplish."

"Your former chief is working with us." He added. "Or perhaps he's working for us?"

Lucci understood. Once the World Government was set on a course of action, they would pursue it on sheer inertia, until all options were exhausted.

"So you're after the Ancient Weapon, Pluton."


	11. Chapter 11 - Concordance

**Chapter 11: Concordance****  
**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina's head snapped up to look at the three agents hovering overhead. Did they just say something about an ancient weapon? Did these guys know where to find even more of them?

A draught of smoke drifting into her face drew her back to the situation at hand, and she wiped away the tears welling up within her stinging eyes. She'd definitely make those other bastards pay for blasting her ship, but right now, she was grateful for the reprieve. While the two weirdos on deck were gawking, her group could take the time to recuperate and think about what to do.

Gourry's eyelids fluttered open, and he pulled himself to his feet, fingers closed around the hilt of his weapon. Behind him, Amelia entreated the swordsman to remain still, while she mended the last of his wounds. A little further back, Luke regained his senses and sprinted to Milina, positioning himself protectively between her and the octopus hair man.

Xellos appeared from the billowing smoke, touching down on the ship's deck. The Mazoku was smiling contentedly, but when Lina shot him a questioning glance, he merely shrugged and said nothing.

"Hey, Zipper!" Lina called out to the agent in front of her. "Why are those two talking about ancient weapons? Do you guys know something about them?"

The egg-shaped man looked back down at her and unzipped his mouth to speak, giving the fastener an extra tug when it got stuck halfway across.

"Well that's because the weapon Pluton has been our former chief's goal for at least the past fourteen years, chapapa." He replied. "But we lost the plans that Lucci's group captured from Water 7, so the only way to get the weapon now would be to read the Poneglyph at Alabasta."

"And whereabouts is this place?" Lina asked.

The agent paused to think for a moment before answering. "Chapa, Alabasta should be on the Grand Line to the west of here. Of course, we won't be able to find it without a pose, and we don't have time to try to buy one, so Lucci will probably want us to take one from the Marines, maybe at G-8 base. And once we do that, then we'll have to..."

"So Lina, what are you planning to do?" Xellos cut in from behind while the agent continued to chatter. Another cannonball slammed into the ocean surface nearby, rocking the ship and drenching the deck with a spray of salty sea water.

"I know we're in a fairly difficult position right now, but I'm sure you can see that this also has the potential to be a great opportunity." He whispered.

Lina made a troubled noise at the back of her throat. As was fast becoming the norm here, every option was a shot in the dark, filled with potentially unpleasant surprises.

The events of the previous night had shown her that their own skills and tools were not going to cut it in this turbulent region. But if sea travel was as common as it seemed to be, then surely the locals would have some way of reliably navigating these anomalies.

Then of course, there was the issue of this new lead requiring them to travel away from their original goal. As the saying went, "The hunter who chases two rabbits catches neither." Whether this was applicable depended on whether anyone was angling to snatch away their first objective in the meantime.

Lina glanced back at her entourage, some of whom had just recovered from their injuries. The new arrivals were definitely hostile, but she didn't know if the guys they'd attacked first were going to just turn on her as soon as the strides were in their favor. Xellos seemed pretty confident though, and as she pondered on what he had been doing up there, she found her gaze drifting upward, to where the three men in the sky had fallen silent.

* * *

...

* * *

Rob Lucci had a promise to keep. He'd made a solemn pledge to his former chief Spandam that CP9 would be paying him a visit soon. Accounts needed to be settled, justice needed to be dealt, and now that the chief's whereabouts were known, Lucci would allow nothing to stand in his way.

And standing in his way now was the Aigis spy, who ceased his ambling and came to a halt between Lucci and Jabra, turning to face the former and showing his back to the latter. A brazen gesture, but perhaps not unwarranted for a man belonging to the 'Strongest Intelligence'.

Lucci's body expanded into his towering half-leopard form, broad-chested and bulging with rippling muscles. Black curved claws extended from the tips of his fingers, and a spotted leopard tail sprouted from his lower back. The current generation of CP9 was hailed as the strongest in the organization's history, and even among them, Lucci stood alone at the summit. It was time these accolades were put to the test.

The Aigis' opening move was a killing blow. His multi-jointed arm struck with shocking speed, flowing and sweeping like water, coated in a blade of slicing wind. Only a last-minute defense prevented Lucci from being disemboweled; instead he felt the attack slice bone-deep into his forearms, sending up a spray of arterial blood.

Turning to deflect the remaining force, Lucci segued the motion into a spinning slash, striking at the Aigis with a wave of compressed air, strong enough to slice through a warship's steel bulkheads. Jabra joined the attack, throwing up a wall of projectiles shaped like snapping wolf heads. Two techniques, designed to pin the masked man between them.

The man's other arm lashed out, faster than sight, dispersing Lucci's attack into a shower of harmless fragments while giving up only a little ground. The thinly smiling mask that he wore now seemed almost mocking in its expression.

Sprinting up from below, Fukuro threw himself into a spinning tackle, which the Aigis dodged with fluttering twirl. A wall of stabbing threads from Kumadori was thwarted with Iron Body, and a barrage of Storm Leg attacks were overpowered by a single return stroke. Jabra reeled back, stunned by a steel-knuckled blow to the face, and a follow-up attack sent the wolf-man hurtling into the water. The masked man descended after him, not content to assume his foe would die of drowning.

Slimming his form down to a lighter, more agile build, Lucci hammered the air with his feet, legs working like pistons as he accelerated to his foe. Twin fists punched out, and the masked head turned, seeming to register brief surprise, visible as a slight twitch. Too late.

A wave of force flowed past Lucci's hands, erupting into the air and rippling through the masked man's torso, causing his body to jerk back from the blow. A hairline fracture formed at the base of his mask, splitting its smile in two. The ultimate technique of the Six Styles, combining the six basic forms into a single destructive attack.

That one definitely had an effect.

For a moment, the only sound in Lucci's ears was the sound of his own heavy breathing.

"The strongest agent in the history of the Ninth." The masked man spoke at last, straightening himself up. "Is that the limit of your power?"

Only the tiniest hint of strain in his voice betrayed the fact that he had taken any damage at all.

Kumadori dove for the sea, tendrils of pinkish hair reaching for Jabra, trying to pull him out before he sank beyond their sight. A Storm Leg attack blew him back, threads slashed to ragged ribbons, his white theatrical make up stained red by countless tiny cuts.

"Unpolished."

Fukuro approached from above, fists bared, running a zigzagging trajectory toward the Aigis. The flick of a finger threw a bullet of compressed air straight into his path, sending him spinning helplessly into the water.

"Unhoned."

The masked man turned now toward Lucci, who had put some distance between them so as to not be caught by a surprise attack. Lucci's eyes widened as the other man thrust out his lanky arms in a mirror image of his own pose, paired fists held one above the other.

"Wasted."

Twin jets of light-distorting force shot out from the masked man's knuckles, spiraling inward, compressing, merging into a single cohesive beam of devastating power. In an instant, the maelstrom closed the distance, thundering through the air with staggering speed. It was already too close, and too fast to escape.

A ball of light appeared before Lucci, expanding into a densely contained shell of bright blue flame that swallowed the spiraling wave, while leaving him untouched. Legs pumping, he cleared the line of fire as the weakened remnants of the blast roared past, dwindling to nothing in the distance.

The agent of Aigis seemed just as surprised, and in that moment, a ribbon of light weaved up from below and made a play for him. Ducking the initial thrust, the masked man failed to react when the technique adjusted itself in mid-air, striking him like a whip and detonating in a flash of white. Beneath the glare, a second crack was visible on his mask, spider-webbing out from its lower left edge.

The sea surface churned, forming jagged waves that crashed together, exploding upward in a fountain of obscuring white. Jabra's dark form was tossed out from the top of the geyser, and Lucci's eyes traced the trajectory of his fellow agent as he landed on the pirate ship's deck, choking up water and gulping in the sweet air. Standing nearby was the red haired girl that Lucci had confronted earlier, hands drawn up in some sort of ability-invoking stance.

Some wordless thought was conveyed between the two of them then.

A wave of shuriken-shaped wind blades raced past Lucci's head, smashing fruitlessly against the Aigis agent's iron resistance. He looked back and saw his final two subordinates arriving from their ship.

"Oh my, it looks like that's the genuine article." Kalifa remarked, brushing back a lock of blonde hair and adjusting her glasses with a finger.

"Did you make some new friends Lucci?" Kaku asked playfully. Hopping from foot to foot, he took up his reverse-grip stance, paired swords flashing in the morning light.

An arc of lightning flashed up from the ship, but the Aigis operative was faster, neatly sidestepping and replying with a deluge of cutting and piercing winds. A wall of white shimmered into view, catching the direct force of the attack, but the considerable backblast caused the surrounding waters to heave. The ship's weather-beaten hull groaned as a wind-churned swell slammed into its side.

Lucci threw himself onto the scene, attacking with a series of his quickest stabs and slashes, blending animal ferocity and practiced, surgical precision. Kaku darted in and out, slashing at their foe through gaps and flinging Storm Leg attacks from a distance. Kalifa circled around, spraying a stream of foam from the other side. Unwilling to risk enduring the effects of an unknown Devil Fruit, the Aigis was forced to break his stance and evade, allowing gaps to creep into his defense.

A spinning pentagram crystallized from the air, summoned by the hooded gunman, and icy tendrils shot out from its points and intersections, grasping at the Aigis spy. The masked man shattered one with a blow from his arm, weaved around another with Paper Arts, then bolted skyward when their numbers proved too overwhelming.

Kaku shifted into his giraffe-hybrid form, and his neck fired out, his oddly square nose slamming into the masked man head-on. The Aigis threw up his arms in a guard position, losing the bare fractions of a second that he needed to escape the icy deluge. One tendril speared into the Aigis spy's leg, forming a film of frost that spread rapidly upward, immediately arresting his flight. Others poured in, encasing him in a split second, throwing on more and more layers until the man was immobilized within a solid slab of crystal-clear ice. It hung serenely in midair like a frozen instant, a snapshot of his struggle.

With a thought, Lucci released his Life Return compression, expanding back into his hulking, ten-foot frame. With diminished range of motion and reduced nimbleness, it was a form he favored less when engaging in close combat. But for sheer brute strength, its usefulness was undisputed.

Raising himself to eye-level with his target, Lucci held out his fists, stopping just short of the surface of the icy cage. He poured out his strength, and the air boomed as a shock wave rippled from his knuckles, punching through crystal, flowing through flesh and shattering the frigid prison into a curtain of glittering rain.

Freed from his restraints, the Aigis agent seemed about to collapse, listless like an unstrung marionette. Growing patches of red stained his once-spotless suit and coat, and his mask was a canvas of jagged cracks and fissures. To his credit, he did not cry out or make any sort of undignified sound, but from the way his gaze darted to and fro, it was clear that he had lost all heart for the fight. A brief flash of joy formed over Lucci's face between panted breaths, and he exulted in the pain and panic wafting from his foe.

"Was that enough power for you, Agent of the Zeroth?"

Without a word, the Aigis spy turned to flee, dashing toward his ship in an erratic path to avoid the barrage of Storm Leg attacks flying his way. Lucci rocketed forward in pursuit, noting the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, and doing his best to regulate his own heavy breathing. The masked man remained annoyingly fast despite his considerable injuries, but as the two of them shot past the pirate ship, Lucci spotted something that made him stop.

On the ship's deck below, the red-haired girl was standing with both arms raised over her head, her expression one of deep concentration while she chanted out some sort of arcane litany. An orb of white power shimmered between her palms, and from it, an insidious glow pervaded the air, wrapped around her like a mantle of red malice.

With a cry of "Dragon Slave!" the girl threw her hands forward, and the red glow exploded forth as a surging torrent of supernatural color. It roared past the masked man, setting the air aflame with the mere aftermath of its passage, then detonated in an explosion of annihilating light. The agent and his ship vanished into the blast, which, for a brief moment, outshined the sun, throwing all on the surface into shadow. A towering column of vapor erupted into the sky, while the ocean rushed in to fill the newly formed gap.

"Well done Lina, well done." Xellos complimented from below, applauding quietly. He rose into the air, just in time to avoid the explosion-driven wave, which tossed the tiny caravel around like a wooden bathtub toy. Blueno's unattended body was fortuitously caught by a railing, while Jabra, still groggy from his near-drowning, managed to cling to the mast alongside the crew until the turbulence passed.

_"Just be patient for a little longer and you might find out."_ The self-dubbed priest's words echoed in Lucci's mind. He allowed himself to smile. Oh, this would be interesting indeed.

With a muted crack that grew louder by the moment, the much-abused ship finally came apart. Kaku raced down, plucking Blueno's unconscious form from the railing, while Jabra and the crew cleared the deck mere moments before the hull disintegrated, revealing a solid block of gold within the hold, nearly broad as the ship was wide. Before anyone could lift a finger in response, the metallic mass plunged into the water, vanishing into the azure depths.

"That was… a lot of gold." Kalifa ventured. "Probably enough to purchase the entire Galley-La Company."

"One could easily commission a royal palace with a sum that large." Kaku agreed.

Kaku's innocent comment seemed to hit the redhead hard, inducing an unsettling shiver that caused most of her crewmates to cringe. For a long moment, she stared blankly at the patch of drifting planks where her ship used to be, then clutched her hair and screamed her frustration at the clear blue sky.

* * *

...

* * *

Spandam sat motionless, facing his desk in the captain's quarters, staring intently at the communicator snail placed at one corner of the table. A myriad of straps, belts and harnesses stretched across his body like cobwebs, pinning his shattered frame in place. There was an annoying itch on his right thigh, but he couldn't move to scratch it. His back throbbed where three vertebrae were fractured, but he couldn't lean forward to take the pressure off. Condensation from the ice pack pressed against his forehead was trickling into his left eye, but with his grotesquely swollen lips, he couldn't so much as blow at it to make it go away.

And all of this was CP9's fault, for failing to kill that accursed Cutty Flam, and for losing the keys to that blasted Nico Robin!

Straining with what little strength he could muster, Spandam turned his head just enough to glance at the clock hanging on the nearest wall. It was an hour past noon.

Even though he couldn't turn far enough to see, Spandam knew there was at least one government agent standing at the door behind him, with orders to receive his visitors and attend to his needs. After all, he was the great Chief Spandam, whose considerable talents had earned him the position of Director within the Tower of Justice at Enies Lobby.

Or at least, that was his position before CP9's incompetent bungling resulted in the island's destruction.

Not to mention, he was the man who had obtained explicit permission from the World Nobles and the Five Elders to pursue this illustrious undertaking. Perhaps after he obtained it, he could even use Pluton to seize the reins of power himself; certainly he deserved no less.

"I'm not happy soldier." He said through gritted teeth. "Not. Happy. Ask me why."

"I'm very sorry to hear that chief!" A nervous voice replied from behind. "Is there something you want me to do for you? Do you have an itch, or maybe you would like something to be adjusted?"

"No no, it's none of that." Spandam replied. "Just ask me why."

"Why?"

"Why what? Be specific, soldier."

"Why are you unhappy?" His attendant ventured.

"Because the ship that should be carrying our third agent was supposed to report in at noon!" Spandam snapped. "And look what time it is now! They are an hour late!"

"Really, I've come to expect this kind of buffoonery from CP9, but the World's Strongest Intelligence should be able to do better." He huffed.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't compare us to things of that sort, dear Chief." A third voice chimed in, soothing, yet spine-chilling, dancing the razor's edge between sincerity and scorn.

Spandam shivered as he felt the agent's warm breath on the back of his neck, while his doorman sputtered out a hasty apology.

"W-well, I just wanted to make sure our team member was doing okay." He quickly stammered. "Plus, I had heard that he was the only one among you three who didn't have an ability, so I used my connections to procure a Fruit, should you have need of it."

He gestured with his chin toward one of the desk's drawers.

"Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary, Chief." The spy noted, flawlessly formal and academic. "Now onto business: we will be arriving soon at the port of Nanohana. Moreover, our translator has confirmed the absence of the princess, the palace security captain, and the royal guard commanders. Truly the fortunes are in our favor, are they not?"

"Oh, well that's good." Spandam replied. He remembered something, then added, "Oh yeah, who is our translator anyway? I'm sure my father had all but one of those Oharan demons put to death."

"She comes to us from Dressrosa, Chief. In the New World." The agent raised his voice so as to make himself heard over a dull roar emanating from above. The ship bobbed as something heavy landed on the deck.

* * *

...

* * *

"A warship?!" Lina threw her hands up in exasperation once Fukuro had concluded his tale. "Why does Pluton have to be a warship?! I want something I can hold, damnit!"

Crossing her arms, she plopped down on a nearby couch and leaned back against its cushion. The small comforts of the captain's cabin were much appreciated after all they had been through.

Kaku strode over to her end of the table and poured her a mug of steaming hot tea. Leaving the empty kettle, he withdrew back to the opposite side, where his fellow agents were gathering. Blueno was the last to join them, having needed to change into some new clothing to replace the ones that had been burnt, after Lina had healed him up once they'd all gotten onboard. Seated front and center among them, Lucci raised a glass of rum to his lips, and his pigeon, dressed in a matching black overcoat, leaned down from his shoulder to share a sip.

"Well then." Zelgadis crossed his arms. "This conflict has nothing to do with us. I say we get off at the next island and find a way to head back toward our original objective."

"Whoa, hold on there Zel, I didn't mean it quite like that." Lina quickly stopped him.

"This former chief of yours." She addressed the Cipher Pol members. "So you're saying he's the one responsible for sending that long-armed freak at us?"

The seven spies and one pigeon sitting across from her nodded in unison.

"And you guys don't have any intel on where or what Poseidon might be?"

The Cipher Pol members confirmed by shaking their heads.

"We really have no interest in obtaining the weapons for ourselves." Kaku explained. "Pluton was always the chief's objective."

Lina nodded. The fact that former intelligence agents didn't know where Poseidon was located was a very good thing in her mind, since it meant no one was likely to go after it. That made sense; if the relic in the sky was the only one pointing to it, not many people would've seen it.

"In that case, I say we head over to Alabasta." She concluded. "It's still a good idea to check out those ruins in case they're holding clues to anything else, and I need to teach that punk chief of yours a lesson for sinking my gold. Plus, if they have any more ships like this, then we can steal one before we go."

"Call it fair and just compensation for my loss." She stated matter-of-factly.

The corners of Lucci's mouth curled up into a momentary smirk.

"Indeed, your logic is impeccable!" Xellos commended from his position leaning against the wall. "I'm sure no one has any objections to Lina's proposal?"

"Chapapa, but it was the wave caused by your overkill technique that ended up sinking your-" Fukuro's mouth snapped shut with a metallic clink at Lina's threatening glare.

"Treacherous villains seek to unearth the weapons for their evil plans!" Amelia stood up on a chair, throwing her cape back and posing dramatically. "They shall be smashed with the hammer of justice!"

"That's right!" Kumadori called out in agreement. "Treachery and betrayal have befouled, polluted and blackened the chief's good name! Yoyoi!"

Zelgadis sighed in resignation. "Alright, fine."

Lina turned toward Luke and Milina, her gaze inviting them to join the discussion.

"Works for us, right Milina?" Luke shrugged. Milina remained silent, content to allow Luke to speak for her as well.

"Alright, it's agreed." Lina rose from her seat and walked to where Rob Lucci sat. It worked out to something surprisingly simple in the end.

"We'll sail with you to Alabasta to get a look at these ruins, and if any more of these goons show up, we'll pitch in to fight them off." She offered. "And after we get all that over with, then we'll go our separate ways."

She stuck out her hand.

Lucci stood up, and all eyes fell upon him as he paused momentarily, then took up the offered hand and shook.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** CP0's members have a theme, similar to how other groups like the Shichibukai and CP9 have animal themes. Now one fight isn't a lot to work with, but if you think you've got a read on it, lemme know. Otherwise, it'll be explained after Chapter 13.

CP9 Crew Roles are as follows:

**Lucci **\- Captain.  
**Kaku** \- Shipwright.  
**Jabra** \- Cook.  
**Kalifa** \- Navigator.  
**Blueno** \- Helmsman.  
**Kumadori** \- Doctor.  
**Fukurou** \- Unassigned.

Slayers Crew Roles, once Lina gets the hang of it, would go something like this:

**Lina** \- Captain.  
**Gourry** \- Swordsman.  
**Zelgadis** \- Navigator.  
**Amelia** \- Doctor.  
**Xellos** \- Archaeologist.  
**Luke** \- Chore Boy (Ha!).  
**Milina** \- Unassigned. She could be considered a diplomat or mediator of sorts, if that was an actual listed crew role.


	12. Chapter 12 - Strange Bedfellows

**Chapter 12: Strange Bedfellows****  
**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

**...**

* * *

Lina didn't start to relax until they were well on their way, with the late afternoon sun casting an orange haze over the horizon.

Arranging for accommodations had been simple enough. The ship they were sharing was originally intended to house an entire platoon of Marines, plus associated support staff, so there were more than enough rooms to divide between the men and women, and the two distinct crews. The cabins were pretty sparse and bunk beds weren't the best, but they had all made do with less in the past.

The ship was equipped with a fairly spacious galley, with all its food stored inside a mechanical contraption capable of automatically generating cold temperatures. Even with her party's voracious eating habits, the journey was only expected to take a few days, so they probably wouldn't need to restock barring some unforeseen catastrophe.

Lina had protested a little when she'd found out that Jabra was going to be in charge of their cooking. Devil Fruit or not, she didn't like werewolves.

"Hey Gourry, do you think I made the right choice?" Lina asked suddenly. She looked over to where the swordsman sat, leaning against a wall with his feet propped up by some spare cushions.

"Hmm? Whaddya mean Lina?" Gourry asked.

"I mean going all the way with these guys." Lina clarified.

"It's just, things are different this time, you know?" She continued, finding herself a little surprised at how forthcoming she was being.

"Before, if we were getting into something serious, the others could bail out if it was getting too dangerous for them. But now, now that we're in this world, we all have to stick together. So my decisions are going for everyone."

"And when we get there, we're probably going to have to fight even more guys like that one in the morning." She added.

A quiet snore alerted Lina to the fact that Gourry had nodded off. Normally this would have earned him a boot to the head, but instead, she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. After all their adventures together, maybe that was just his way of expressing his confidence in her.

Lina pulled herself to her feet. She needed to find Zelgadis. There was somewhere they had to be.

* * *

...

* * *

"This is a Log Pose." Kalifa stretched out her arm to display the accessory attached to her wrist. Lina and Zelgadis scooted forward, leaning in to look. It had taken all day to secure this vital lesson, so by the gods she was going to get it.

Lina tapped the device with a finger. It was a clear, glassy orb, with what was obviously a compass needle suspended within, pointing steadily in the direction of the ship's heading. A metal frame and accompanying leather strap kept it fastened to the wearer's arm.

She blinked as the implication came to her, and from Zelgadis' gasp, it seemed he had grasped it too. Rummaging through one of the pockets lining her cape, she produced her own compass, whose needle was still spinning wildly around its pedestal.

"How come your needle can stay straight?" She asked, pointing at the accessory in question. "I couldn't even get my crystal ball to work on this crazy ocean."

"The islands of the Grand Line emit their own magnetic waves, so of course an ordinary compass wouldn't work." Kalifa said with a smirk, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"The Log Pose is a special compass that records the magnetic interactions between nearby islands. Once it has locked onto the pull, it will point to the next island on the route."

Still smirking, she bent down, brushing her long hair back over her shoulder and bringing her face close to Lina's, allowing her tie to dangle free from her generously proportioned chest. No, Lina wasn't jealous at all, not one bit.

"Trying to sail on the Grand Line without a Log Pose is impossible." She chided. "You all would've gotten lost and shipwrecked before long if we hadn't arrived."

Lina's face pulled into a frown. Maybe she was right, but did she really have to put it like that?

"So what's the name of the island that it's pointing to now?" Zelgadis ventured.

Kalifa's gaze turned sharply to look at him.

"That's sexual harassment." She replied.

Lina watched as Zelgadis stiffened like a plank, and felt a slight shudder passing through her own body. The vibes that this woman was giving off were strongly reminding her of someone from her past, who she had unwillingly journeyed with for over a year before she met Gourry. Someone she definitely didn't want to remember.

She glanced outside to take her mind off such thoughts. Night was falling, and she could hear the fluttering sound of sails being furled, and the sloshing of water against the ship's hull gradually dying down.

* * *

...

* * *

The two crews convened on the deck, the disciplined ranks of the Cipher Pol agents assembling at the prow standing in stark contrast to the mostly aimless mob that was Lina's group. Just ahead, a cluster of lights could be seen, sweeping search beams mounted onto a ring of cliffs, diligently scanning the darkened seas.

"This is Navarone Island, home of the G-8 base." Lucci spoke, his voice cutting through the chatter. "Once we take what we want, there will be no need for us to wait."

"Oi Lucci, you aren't just ordering this because you wanna spill some blood are you?" Jabra asked. "How do we even know they'll have an Eternal Pose for Alabasta?"

"No, he's probably right." Kaku replied. "A base's fleet would be expected to deploy in a timely manner to any island within its jurisdiction. Alabasta is a little out of the way for G-8, but with the recent incident there that lead to Crocodile's dismissal, there's a high chance that they'll have it."

"I've checked the base's docks." Blueno added. "Vice Admiral Jonathan's battleship is not present."

"So? What'd you call us up here for?" Lina sniffed. It was windy outside, even though they'd stopped moving, and she was already longing for the warm radiance of the ship's deckhouse.

"We will invade the base, and return when we have an Eternal Pose, which points perpetually to a single Grand Line island." Blueno explained. "Then we can set out immediately for our destination."

"Yoyoi! And you, our trusted and most honorable allies," Kumadori chimed in, "must remain here and safeguard the ship from enemy attack!"

Lina gave a curt nod, and watched as the three preeminent agents took off toward the base. Blueno stretched out a hand, pulling apart a section of air to form a doorway into his hazy green dimension, closing it behind him once Fukuro, Kumadori and Kalifa had entered.

"They're so cool!" Amelia squealed, eyes shining. "A team of secret agents, fighting villains in the name of justice!"

Lina snorted. She had half-opened her mouth to remind Amelia that they'd been fighting the very same team just that morning, then stopped herself as she hit upon a new train of thought.

"Well, I don't see why we all have to stand out here at the same time." She suggested. "Since you like them so much, why don't you take first watch Amelia? If anything happens, I'll be inside."

* * *

...

* * *

Once the others were gone, Amelia quickly seated herself on the thick wooden railing at the fore of the ship, squinting into the darkness to try and pick up what she could. One searchlight flickered out, then another, until the exterior of the base was plunged into darkness.

In her mind, Amelia pictured the agents darting silently from cover to cover, traversing the base while eluding patrols. Maybe they could even trail lone guards right out in the open, using bursts of super-speed to keep out of sight while flashing cool poses in the process. In the unlikely event that they were spotted, a quick chop would knock the soldier out before he could utter a peep, leaving the remaining defenders none the wiser.

The sound of footsteps on the deck behind her pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked toward the source to see Zelgadis coming to relieve her.

"I'll take over the watch." He offered. "The night gets pretty cold out here on the sea."

Amelia shook her head. "No, I wanna stay here a little longer." She said, then added. "But, if you want, why don't you come wait with me?"

Zelgadis nodded his assent, leaning against the railing beside her, and for a while, the two of them watched in companionable silence.

It was broken by a scream.

It wasn't a scream borne of fright, or even a simple cry of pain; this was an eerie sound, as if all of a man's hopes and dreams were erupting out as a single outcry, wrenched from the living world and cast into the afterlife.

"What?!" Amelia managed to blurt out. Beside her, Zelgadis furrowed his brows.

Though she could only listen, it was like witnessing a catastrophe in slow motion. Gunshots rang out and cannons thundered, only to be cut short, replaced by a ghastly chorus of cries. In between them, she could just make out sounds that could've been begging, before they were terminated like all the others. Her imagination filled in the gaps, painting for her a grisly picture of what their allies were doing. She leaned forward, covered her mouth with a hand, and retched.

A moment of silence was followed by a sound like a creaking hinge. An air door opened on the deck and Blueno stepped through, moving aside to make way for his colleagues. Lucci emerged last, his white spotted shirt and dark coat matted with blood, reeking of death. In his hand was clutched an hourglass-like frame, with a single glass orb held in its center, and a tiny needle floating inside.

"Mission accomplished." Lucci said with a shark-like grin.

"You killed them." Amelia drew in her arms and averted her eyes. She suddenly felt very cold. Beside her, Zelgadis growled, fingering the pommel of his sword and the hilts of his pistols.

"They were just doing their job, they never did anything to you." She was starting to tremble. "They screamed and begged and you just killed them."

"They were weak." Lucci turned to rejoin the other agents, who had stopped to wait for him by the cabin door.

"That was their sin. And this is my justice."

Zelgadis waited in silence until the agents had filed in through the door.

"Hey, come on." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you to your room."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina yawned and stretched her limbs as she felt the first warm rays of dawn sweeping over her face. It looked like it would be a pleasant day; the sea was calm, the sky was clear, and in the distance she could just make out the dark silhouette of some monstrous sea serpent, emerging for a breath of the crisp morning air before dipping back beneath the surface.

She briefly wondered if it tasted like dragon.

Lina glanced over at Milina's empty bed on the far side of the room, with neatly folded covers occupying one side of the mattress. Not many people got up early enough to be gone before her.

Amelia lay closer, wrapped tightly within her blankets. She had woken up gasping several times during the night, though she seemed to be getting some restful slumber now.

Lina rose and put on her clothes, hooking her cape to her pauldrons and giving her hair a quick brush. There'd be time to investigate later. Now was breakfast time.

* * *

...

* * *

Amelia didn't wake until noon, when Zelgadis had knocked on her door to see if she was alright. Now she swallowed as she stood in front of the entrance to the captain's cabin, where the seven agents were gathered for their afternoon tea. They were well into their second day at sea, but the two groups remained noticeably disconnected, seldom mingling except during meal times.

To Amelia's surprise, the chatter inside died down, and the door swung open to reveal Kaku standing in the doorway. With one hand, he gestured for her to join them, while he poured her a cup and pulled up an empty chair with the other.

"Thank you Mr. Kaku." Amelia said and took the offered cup. She sat down, feeling the eyes of all seven agents turning toward her. Some, like Fukuro and Kumadori, wore curious looks, while Blueno and Kalifa remained stoically neutral. Lucci's expression was one that she could not read at all.

"Gonna say something?" Jabra asked, cracking his neck then taking a sip from his mug.

"Well, you guys said you were government agents right?" Amelia asked. "I was just wondering, what does an agent do, exactly?"

"We are agents of Cipher Pol, as we have said." Blueno explained.

"There are eight publicly acknowledged Cipher Pol cells stationed around the four Blues and the Grand Line. They perform espionage and provide assistance to the Marines' intelligence division, though they are concerned more with political matters than criminal and military."

Amelia nodded. While Saillune preferred to cultivate relationships of openness and trust with the other kingdoms on the continent, there were always some unsavory types against whom clandestine activity was necessary.

"We were members of the Ninth, an unofficial unit along with the Zeroth. We performed some of the same duties as the eight official branches, but in addition, we were trained and given license to kill any individual who acts in a manner that is contrary to the World Government's interests."

Amelia felt her blood run cold as a distant childhood memory tugged at the back of her mind.

"Wait, so you're saying that… that you're-"

"Our primary occupation was assassination." Blueno confirmed.

Assassins. Amelia shivered at that word, as images of her mother's death flooded her vision, her blood pumping onto the floor and mixing with that of her murderer. Her elder sister Gracia had departed the following day, taking with her a memento from their mother's closet, and they never did find out who'd sent the killer. Investigations had determined only that the assassin's intended target was Gracia herself; perhaps it was even someone from within her own family.

"Y-yoyoi… are you well?" Kumadori ventured.

Amelia blinked and nodded, breathing deep to calm her nerves. Still, here was a group of assassins, who, by their own admission, had until recently been given free reign to kill in the name of the World Government. Was it right because it was necessary? What made something necessary? What made it right?

Amelia found herself recalling Shiki's words. She was about to reply when the entire ship rattled with the booming thunder of cannonfire.

"What now?!" Jabra snapped in irritation as the tremors caused his grip to waver, spilling hot tea onto his bare chest.

"Pirates. Troublesome, but not unexpected." Blueno said, pushing his seat back and standing up.

"We passed the island of Jaya not long ago." Kalifa added. "Probably a group of pirates thinking they can make an easy haul."

"Not unlike what your group was doing." She added slyly.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina and Gourry stood on the deck, gazing at the distant but fast-approaching pirate ship. It was a rather garish thing, with patches of bright, mismatched colors that invoked more distaste than fear when viewed. A fluttering white flag mounted atop its tallest mast was emblazoned with a coiled serpent symbol, fangs bared and tongue flicking.

Lina laughed cruelly, causing Gourry to cringe.

"You know, it's been really long." Lina said. "Finally we get to fight some completely normal pirates, without any floating islands, giant monsters or martial artists on their side."

A burst of smoke sent a cannonball soaring their way, which she detonated in midair with a salvo of flare arrows.

The captain of the other ship seemed to interpret the fiery blast as a hit, and the pirate ship tilted its rudder and closed to board. Soon the pirates were close enough to be heard, and Lina could hear them shouting out their threats; something about handing over her ship's valuables in exchange for their lives.

She snorted. Their lines were so run-of-the-mill.

An air door opened behind her and Blueno stepped through, while the remaining agents dashed out of the various windows and portholes. Assembling on the side of the ship facing the pirates, the seven agents cut a pretty imposing figure in the afternoon light. The pirates hesitated.

"Hold on just a second." Lina quickly cut in. "I saw these guys first. They're all mine."

A couple of fireballs later and the pirate ship was left burning and sinking behind them, while the crew scrambled for the handful of floating planks that Lina had so graciously left intact.

"Ah, treasure. Just what I needed to help me get over all this stress." Lina smiled as she landed back on deck, a sack of loot slung over one shoulder. Pouring out its contents, she began to sort them into the various compartments sewn onto her cape. The coins she slipped into one pouch, art objects into a small bag, and the few gemstones she'd poached were separated and placed into a side pocket. If they ever arrived somewhere where her crystal ball worked again, she could use some earth and water magic on them to sculpt them into more pleasing shapes, which would increase their trade value accordingly.

She frowned as she held up a wad of paper bills. Her mind was still having trouble ascribing value to these things. Maybe if she could find somewhere to spend some.

"Hey, why don't you wear this Zel? You always seem to be the one on top of this kind of stuff." Lina presented a Log Pose, snatched from one of the pirates before she'd dealt the finishing blow to their ship.

Zelgadis nodded and clipped the device to his wrist, following the examples they had seen. Folding up her cloak, Lina rose and inspected the hovering needle, noting that it diverged somewhat from their ship's heading.

"So, where's this one pointing to?" She asked the agents.

"The island west of Jaya on this route should be Ukkari Island." Blueno replied. "I am unaware of any notable features."

"Actually, Ukkari Island recently acquired a new set of hot springs, chapapa." Fukuro cut in. "Just built, and I heard they're really really good."

"Ooh, can we make a stop there?" Lina said, eliciting a round of strange looks.

"Come on, what's the big deal? I mean it's not like we're going to get to our destination today right?" She pressed on despite, turning to Kalifa for confirmation. "So where's the harm in spending an evening at the springs, relaxing before battle?"

"It's true." Kalifa conceded, keeping her expression carefully neutral. "At our current speed, we should arrive at Alabasta tomorrow either way."

Lina took a moment to look the female agent over.

"Hey, don't pretend otherwise." She said. "I bet you wanna go too huh?"

* * *

...

* * *

The G-8 base on Navarone Island had always been labeled as "peace-crazy" by its detractors. Heavily armed and surrounded by a ring of cliffs, the island was avoided by pirates, and thus the base itself saw very little combat. This in turn gave it value as a repair and recuperation stop, for damaged ships and Marine soldiers injured in the line of duty. Here they could rest easy, secure in the knowledge that no trouble would come calling.

Nonetheless, there were those at Marine Headquarters who saw G-8 as useless, and some had tried several times in the past to have it closed down. Kuzan personally felt that such drastic actions were counterproductive, and had quietly filed his opposition to them every time. It was one of the few things on which he saw eye-to-eye with Sakazuki.

Kuzan wore a grim expression, and said nothing as he walked the blood-slicked halls of the base. He'd ordered his ships back to G-8 for maintenance after another day of fruitless searching, only to find over a hundred Marine soldiers murdered in cold blood. Telltale signs spoke of the perpetrators' identities; bullet-like penetration wounds with no bullet to be found. Severed body parts, accompanied by massive gouges torn into the nearby walls and floors. Embedded slugs, deformed as if they had been rebounded by some impenetrable object. The main gate was still intact, with no signs of forced entry by a ship.

"Admiral sir!" A Marine shouted from behind him. "We've done an inventory as you requested! Nothing was amiss except…"

Kuzan turned. "Except?"

"Except the base's Eternal Pose for the country of Alabasta."

* * *

...

* * *

The crew pulled up the ship's and dropped anchor at the hot-springs island's southern shore, right next to the bathhouse's entrance. Beyond the walls, Lina could see clouds of steam drifting up from the baths, and hear the sound of water bubbling and gushing from fountains. A smattering of voices were audible as well, but strangely, the island didn't have any docks on which they could moor their ship, nor did they see any other ships anchored around its perimeter.

Lina quickly put that thought from her head and giggled. The place looked even better than she had imagined. Lucci and Blueno weren't coming anyway, so they would be on hand if anything went wrong with the ship.

Debarking with the rest of her party, Lina strode through the entrance, approaching the receptionist with a wad of money in hand. She stared quizzically for a moment at the tall, dark-skinned man, her eyes falling upon a pair of small, feathered wings sprouting from his back. She shrugged.

"So, how much will it be for eleven?" Lina asked, leaning on the front counter. She didn't feel too bad paying for everyone if it was going to be with her paper notes.

The man mumbled something back that she couldn't really hear.

"What's that?" She pressed.

"Miss Lina, I think he's trying to talk with his mouth closed." Amelia pointed out.

Lina looked up at the receptionist, who was staring down and gesticulating at her, but with his lower lip stuck inside his mouth, his attempts to speak came out as a series of unintelligible grunts.

"Say something with your mouth open you idiot!" Lina screeched.

"Ah! How careless!" The man blurted in surprise.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina folded up her robes and removed her earrings, then wrapped herself in a towel and tied her hair back with her headband. She slid open the wooden door that lead to the spring, and stepped into the evening air.

Lina gasped in delight. The full moon above cast its light down through the drifting clouds of vapor, bestowing upon them a sort of ethereal, dream-like quality. The pool itself was dyed a lovely sky blue by whatever minerals flowed through its waters, and wide enough that several small islands of smooth rock could be seen jutting out from its surface. A gushing fountain in the back provided the finishing touches to the bath's calming atmosphere.

The springs were newly established, and the other female guests had retired to their rooms, so they had the women's bath all to themselves. Lina dipped a toe into the balmy waters, then lowered herself down, leaving her towel on a nearby stone. Amelia was already deep in relaxation, immersed in water up to her nose, eyes closed and face flushed red from the warmth. Milina sat off to the side, leaning against the pool's edge.

Kalifa emerged last from the women's changing rooms, giving Lina a wink and a smile as she walked toward the pool, swaying her hips seductively as she did. Lina shut her eyes and turned away as Kalifa dipped into the pool, though when she peeked again she saw that the lone female agent had kept her towel on and did not allow the water to reach her chest. Oh right, Devil Fruit.

Pushing such matters from her thoughts, Lina lowered herself into the hot spring-water, reclining back and feeling the mineral water working its way into her skin. After all the trouble they'd been through recently, just lying in the heated pool seemed to make their burdens melt away.

Lina was jolted out of her peaceful respose as a furious argument erupted from the men's section. Jabra and Fukuro's voices were the loudest, clearly audible over the splashing and the gushing of the fountain, joined by a few others that she didn't recognize. Kneeling to raise her head above the surface, Lina cleared her ears of water, allowing her to make out a few snatches of the conversation.

"What's that zipper on your mouth good for if you can't keep it shut!"

"Can't do anything about it now, chapapa!"

"Shut up! And don't you try to 'chapapa' me! I take my eyes off you for a second and you go off and tell everyone all about our plans!"

The heads of the four women turned slowly to share a worried glance.

Lina was the first to act, snatching up her towel and throwing it around herself. Oh, why did it have to turn out like this? Throwing etiquette to the wind, she invoked a Levitation, soaring over the divider and into the men's section.

Though Blueno and Lucci had remained on the ship, the men's bath was still rather crowded, with seven men present between their two crews. Three others stood off to one side, clothed in loose desert apparel. The sullen expressions they wore indicated that they definitely had a stake in this, and from their scars, it looked like they weren't just some ordinary people either.

Nonetheless, whatever concerns they had had been sidelined for the moment by the frantic argument between Jabra and Fukuro. Lina watched as the former clambered onto his colleague's stout chest and tugged at his zipper mouth to emphasize his point. Kaku tried to weigh in, and when words failed to get through, he stood up and forcibly separated the squabbling pair.

Catching himself, Jabra turned instead toward the three strangers, murderous intent burning within his eyes. A carpet of dark fur flowed down his back, and his face stretched outward, bones cracking as they reshaped themselves into a long, lupine snout. A thick, bushy tail sprouted from his back, twitching with jittery energy.

"See to it that the ship's ready to sail when I get back." He growled, claws gleaming in the moonlight. "I'll be quick."

Lina opened her mouth to yell for him to stop when a feminine voice cut her off. All eyes turned toward the dressing room, where a young woman stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of light jeans and a dark tank top, with wavy blue hair tied into a loose ponytail.

Cries of "Princess" and "Princess Vivi" spilled from the mouths of the three men.

"Please stop." The princess pleaded again. "We'll do what you want. Just please, tell me what's happening in my country."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Ukkari Hot Springs Island is, of course, from Gedatsu's Accidental Blue-Sea Life. Along with CP9's Independent Report, I guess that's two cover stories that this arc uses.

Gah, I'm so uncreative. I really need to stop ending chapters like this. And that's the last of my pre-written chapters, so please be patient, as the next one will take a bit longer.


	13. Chapter 13 - A Place to Return to

**Chapter 13: A Place to Return to**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina knew an opportunity when she saw one, and by her order, Fukuro was to go back to the ship to notify Lucci and Blueno. They were not going to pass up the chance to work with the princess of Alabasta on this.

It became obvious that princess Vivi knew the island's proprietor personally when she requested that a conference room be cleared out for them. Apparently, she and her entourage were taking a vacation at the hot springs, having been on the island for the past several days. Lacking a means to contact her kingdom, they were left completely uninformed about current events there.

"No killing." Lina had said, a condition that Fukuro was to relay to Lucci in no uncertain terms. This was a chance to get some inside help rather than leaping into the dark, and she wouldn't have him ruining it with cold-blooded murder. They were to show up at the meeting, spill out what they knew, and help secure the princess's cooperation from there.

Withdrawing to the dressing rooms, Lina changed into her normal clothing, then gathered up her party and lead them to the conference. Taking a moment to fasten her earrings, clip on her talismans and straighten her hair out a bit, she stepped through the doorway, followed by the rest of her group. Well, other than Xellos; nobody had seen any sign of him since early yesterday.

"The name's Lina. Lina Inverse." She introduced.

The room was fairly spacious, dominated by a long, wooden table, though it was currently a little crowded with all the members of CP9 crammed around one end, where Lucci was already seated. Vivi occupied the other side, accompanied by guard captain Igaram. Standing behind her, the guard captain did his best to look the part with a stern-faced expression, but his small red nose and curled hairstyle made him seem more amusing than intimidating.

Lina pulled out a chair for herself halfway down the long end of the table, and her friends did the same, all save for Gourry, who opted instead to lean against the wall behind her. Sitting at Lina's left, Luke yawned and opened his mouth to say something, but a sharp glance from Milina convinced him to hold his tongue.

"Let us begin." Lucci announced.

The princess's two remaining attendants left to stand guard outside, and the CP9 agents began their explanation of the developments leading up to the current situation. Recognition bloomed on Vivi's face as they spoke; apparently their defeat at the hands of pirates was pretty big news.

Having heard all that already, Lina tuned out the explanations, glancing over at the princess and idly studying her expression. The girl was dressed in casual vacation clothing, and she didn't look any older than Lina was. She certainly didn't seem like a stereotypical princess, carrying herself with a distinct air of modesty and simplicity.

Lina watched as Vivi tensed and gnawed at her lip when Blueno broached the subject of Spandam's ultimate goal. Kaku picked up the story from there, continuing with what they knew about their former chief's connections and proclivities. Though Vivi said nothing, from the way her shoulders trembled, it seemed like she was suppressing a scream or struggling not to cry.

Vivi's reaction seemed to trigger something in Amelia, who took a deep breath and looked torn between wanting to comfort the princess and wanting to give her her space. Yeah, Amelia had been there before too.

The room fell silent as Kaku finished his explanation, and everyone stopped to await Vivi's reaction.

"'But what's happening in Alabasta right now?" The princess pleaded. "How many of them are in Alubarna? And what are they-" her words seemed to lock in her throat, "-what are they doing to my father?"

Lina noticed several of the CP9 members exchanging sympathetic glances, while Kumadori shook his head, looking down with a remorseful expression. For his part, Lucci remained stone-faced, and if there was any anger or irritation brewing beneath the surface, his expression didn't show it.

"That is everything we know about the situation." Lucci said. "We don't have any information on precisely what assets the chief may have deployed to your country."

"Then-" Vivi stood up, fists clenched, "then I have to return to Alubarna right away."

"Hey, let's all just calm down for a sec and think this through first." Lina tried to interject.

"I can't let you do that." Lucci leaned forward, eyes darkening. "Your interference might alert the chief to our whereabouts."

Vivi grit her teeth. "You could never understand." She argued back. "I am the princess of Alabasta. What if the royal army is fighting the occupiers right now? Thousands of people could die if I don't get back in time."

"Hey! Guys!" Lina shouted. But it was to no avail, for both sides were by now thoroughly entrenched, having no awareness left but for each other.

"People die." Lucci replied tonelessly. "And if you try to get in our way, I will personally ensure that you don't even make it back to your kingdom."

The princess's eyes went wide while her guard captain stepped in front, shielding her with an outstretched arm. The door flung open, and the two remaining attendants rushed in, glaring at Lucci with hands gripped tightly around their swords. Lucci rose from his seat, returning the two men's gazes, and to their credit, neither man flinched beneath his stare.

Lina's eyes darted to and fro. She could feel matters slipping out of her grasp. And if Lucci killed the princess… Oh, why did it have to turn out like this?

* * *

...

* * *

Vivi forced her eyes to her counterpart among the CP9 and fought down a wave of terror. There was no hesitation in the man's posture, and she could see his eyes scanning her side of the room, mapping out a path that would allow him to cut past Igaram and make his way to her.

CP9. As a member of Alabasta's royal family, Vivi was aware of the eight lesser Pols, who mostly occupied themselves gathering intelligence on pirate and revolutionary activity. And though she had never heard of the ninth Pol until recently, the weight of their deeds could be felt. Notorious pirates mysteriously ceasing activity, revolutionary leaders suddenly disappearing, even royals were not immune once their ties to "undesirable" elements were exposed.

The group's narrow defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates had made front page news, and unlike the events in Alabasta, the crew's involvement could not be covered up. Vivi had traveled with the Straw Hats for a time, when they had saved her country from the depredations of the Warlord Crocodile, and she had seen firsthand the monstrous strength of their top fighters. Plus, their captain was Straw Hat Luffy, who would go to any length and take any pain for the sake of his crewmates. Vivi glanced down at a spot on her left arm, where the faded remnant of a painted 'X' was still visible on her skin.

But the Straw Hats were gone off on their own adventures, and she couldn't be with them. As the princess and next in line for the throne, she had a responsibility to her kingdom, which was once again threatened by the burden that it had carried since the Void Century.

Vivi was prepared to give her life for even a chance to protect her country. Even if they were nominally the enemies of her enemy, she couldn't just place her faith in the plans of some... assassins. She had to speak up, had to do something.

Lucci's hand twitched, jolting Vivi back to the situation at hand, while Igaram, Chaka and Pell jerked in response. Vivi bit her lip. If CP9 was strong enough to challenge the Straw Hats, then could the four of them hold them off? Already, the lead agent was toying with them, like a cat playing with mice.

"Don't do it, Mr. Lucci." The dark-haired girl, Amelia, spoke up. Lucci evinced no response, as if he hadn't even heard, so Amelia stood up to emphasize her point.

"Why not?" Lucci's head turned slowly toward Amelia. "She has made it clear that she is an obstacle to our goals."

Vivi realized then that she had overlooked this third crew, and she noticed that the CP9 agents had never actually detailed the terms of their alliance.

"Mr. Lucci, you shouldn't talk about people like that." Amelia said. "Every person has hopes and dreams, and some are bigger, and some are smaller, but nobody's is more or less important. And when you kill someone, you're stealing all of these away, taking everything they have and everything they could have had. And yes, sometimes it has to be done, but you talked about sin and justice didn't you?"

"What justice is there in killing a princess who just wants to save her kingdom?"

"I have to agree with Amelia here." The red-haired girl added, fixing Lucci with a glare. "There'll be no killing, fighting or anything like that here today, got it?"

"And what, then, should we do-" Lucci gestured toward Vivi with a hand, "-if she decides to run off on her own and alerts the Chief to our arrival?"

"Please, Miss Vivi." Amelia pleaded, turning to address her. "These people are really dangerous. If you go by yourself, then you're risking your life for no reason."

A gulp of nervous saliva inched its way down Vivi's throat.

"I have nothing else to risk." She said slowly.

Amelia blinked in response.

"But we're all risking our lives for this, aren't we?" She said, breaking into a wide smile.

Vivi felt something warm take root in her chest as Amelia's words touched upon a cherished memory, the feeling mirrored by an identical sensation emanating from the mark on her arm. A strangled gasp tore its way from her throat, and the royal guards glanced at her with worried expressions. She closed her eyes for a moment, then with a deep breath, she opened them once more.

"Alright." Vivi nodded. She sat back down, pulling her seat to the table, and watched as Lucci did the same.

"What's the plan?" She said.

* * *

...

* * *

"Whew." Lina blew a lock of coppery hair from her face, letting out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. She glanced over at Amelia, who was smiling broadly.

"Well, I guess we came in here hoping you would know something." Lina addressed the Alabastan princess, returning to the topic at hand. "So I suppose all we can do is sail over to where the bad guys are and give 'em a beating, right?"

"That might not be possible." Vivi shook her head. "To get to Alubarna by water, you would have to sail up the Sandora River, and then travel east across the desert. It's a difficult journey, and I don't know if you would make it in time."

"And that's probably the move these guys are expecting too." Lina finished for her. "Well, shoot."

"But we do have another way." Vivi nodded. "This island is linked to Alabasta by a tunnel, and the other side opens just outside of Alubarna. It was dug just a little while ago, and hasn't really been opened to the public, so I could go back first, and confirm that it's clear before sending Scissors back to bring you all."

"I can verify that it is." A feminine voice floated into the room before Lina could ask what this 'Scissors' was. "It's how I got here after all."

Lina turned to look over her shoulder and saw that the meeting room door was open, held by a slender young woman who was standing in front of it, dressed in a long, frilly gown with a red rose tucked into her dark hair. By all accounts, she was quite beautiful, and Lina felt a pang of jealousy at her generously proportioned breasts. Damnit, it was like the world was going out of its way to spite her.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Lina asked.

"You can call me Viola." The woman replied. "I'm the translator for the archeological expedition that seems to be the topic of discussion here."

A round of murmurs and gasps rippled across the room, all save for Lucci, whose expression shifted to a predatory smirk, and Vivi, who had closed her eyes in thought.

"So you're telling us that if we eliminate you now, then the chief's goals cannot be accomplished." Lucci spoke, his voice low and conspiratorial. "That certainly makes things easier."

"Oh, don't give me that." Viola frowned at him. "Even if you did kill me, how long do you think it would take before your former director found somebody else? You know as well as I do that the Five Elders are backing this venture."

"Besides, I came out here to try and help you." She added.

"And what makes you think we're just going to believe that?" Lina said. "This all seems pretty suspicious to me."

Releasing the door and allowing it to close behind her, Viola stepped over to Lina's seat, with the thumb and index finger of one hand bent into a circle.

"Here, look through this and confirm for yourself." She said, kneeling down and placing her hand in front of Lina's face, so that Lina's eye was looking through the circle she had formed.

Lina gasped as a flood of images flashed through her mind. She saw a sea of sand, endless stretches of dunes shimmering in the desert's heat haze. She saw Alubarna, the kingdom's capital, built on a plateau of solid rock, its domed palaces gleaming in the harsh sun. And wait, how did she connect that image with the name?

The visions focused inward, fixating on the palace, showing former CP9 director Spandam wrapped head-to-toe in layered bandages like a mummy. Though he was too injured to walk and had to be wheeled around by an attendant, he was awfully good at running his mouth, barking orders to the exhausted servants as if he'd been crowned king himself. A pair of masked agents shadowed him at all times, nameless and wraithlike. Lina caught a glimpse of Viola's attendants, known by their aliases, Buffalo and Baby 5 of the Donquixote…

Lina jerked back as Viola withdrew her hand, and the parade of images came to an end. She coughed once, wiped her eyes with her hands, then blinked a few times to clear her mind of the visions.

"Wow." Lina sat motionless for a moment, trying to process all that she had seen. "Those were… memories right?"

Viola nodded back. "That's my ability, the power to see through everything."

"Even into the mind." She added quietly.

* * *

...

* * *

Viola wasted no time bringing the princess and the two crews up to speed on events in Alabasta. Fortunately, she hadn't gotten a chance yet to use her ability to translate, since the tomb containing the Poneglyph was still being excavated. Of course, Viola had made it clear that they were still working on a deadline, even if they would've liked more time to think things through.

"CP0's existence is top secret, known only by a few." Viola explained. "So they can't operate without a cover."

"And as blunt as they often are, the World Government doesn't want to initiate open hostilities against the Alabasta Kingdom, so your former chief is their front man for this whole thing." She addressed the CP9 agents. "Whether things go right, or they go wrong, everything can be pinned on him."

"So they want to have their cake and eat it too." Lina said.

"I expect the chief will probably be sentenced for acting without orders, even if he succeeds." Viola shrugged. "If he's expecting some kind of reward, he's going to be disappointed."

The hours flew by while Lina and her friends tossed out suggestions based on what they knew, and the CP9 agents contributed some of their unique expertise. The front desk closed down, and the island's elderly proprietor peeked in to check up on them, before retiring to his quarters for the night. Throughout it all, Vivi spoke very little, only raising her voice to confirm or deny any inquiries that were raised. Likewise, Viola seemed to shy away from Vivi's gaze, rarely meeting her eyes and preferring to address Lina and the CP9 instead.

"Now, we already know how we can get in, but we can't just make a big mess fighting it out in the capital." Lina said, before pausing as a thought struck her. "So we'll need some sort of diversion to get all of these goons away from the city. And then some of us can go in through the tunnel and get what we want."

"How do we do that?" Zelgadis crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that require a few of us to already be in the area?"

"I might have a way." Viola offered. "With my clairvoyance I can see over long distances; it's how I found you all here. If I tell them that intruders are arriving by sea, then they will be likely to believe me."

"Even if that were the case, I would expect the chief to keep at least one of the Aigis members by his side at all times." Kaku chimed in. "Although in that instance we should at least have the element of surprise."

"So then some of us will have to be on the boat to distract the guys down south, or they'll just come right back." Lina scratched her chin with a finger. "Of course, that does mean we'll have to split up. Everyone okay with that?"

That garnered a round of nods.

"Alright, so here's the plan." Lina announced. "Out of all of us, Vivi will go back to Alabasta first; that way it'll be less suspicious. Then Viola will tell the bad guys to head south to the mouth of the Sandora River, near Nanohana, where our ship will meet them and distract them. Then, when Vivi gives us the all-clear with one of those snail talkers that we have on our ship, me and whoever else wants to come can head over through the tunnel. Then we'll beat up the chief, free the king, and without their cover guy, they'll have to give up the whole gig."

"And then, I'll get to have a look at the Poneglyph for myself." Lina finished.

"Relax!" She added, noticing the unhidden stares from the princess's entourage. "I don't want it for the battleship. I just need to see if it has any other information related to the one I've already looked at. Promise."

Viola's eyes met Lina's.

"You can understand the ancient texts?" She asked.

"Well, not me." Lina said, waving a hand aimlessly as she tried to explain herself. "It's someone I know, but who we haven't seen in a while. He'll turn up eventually though."

"Alright, then I think it's time for me to leave." Viola stood up and made her way to the door. "It wouldn't be good for me to be gone too long, or else the others will get suspicious. If all goes well, this'll be the last we see of each other, but perhaps we can meet again on these seas."

"Wait." Vivi's voice cut in. Viola froze.

"You're princess Viola, of Dressrosa right?" Vivi asked. She had a thoughtful look on her face, which was gradually replaced by one of horror as she connected the dots together.

"Eight years ago, the Riku family of Dressrosa was overthrown." Vivi continued. "And then, the kingdom was given to the Warlord Doflamingo, and… Oh. Oh no."

Viola turned, giving Vivi a wistful smile, and a single glistening tear rolled down the side of her cheek.

"That's why I came." She said, her voice fading to a hoarse whisper. "I didn't want to see another princess without a kingdom to return to."

* * *

...

* * *

With Viola's departure, the CP9 members filed out as well, heading back to shore to prepare the ship. All save for Lucci at least, who had insisted on being part of the insertion group. By Kalifa's estimate, they were still the better part of a day away from the shores of Alabasta, meaning they needed to set sail as soon as possible to make it in time for the plan.

Sitting on the stairs by the bathhouse entrance, Amelia watched as Zelgadis clambered aboard, lending a hand in the preparations. Someday, they'd have to do this themselves, so better to get used to it while they were still among company.

"Hey." Amelia turned to see Vivi stepping out from the entrance's sliding door. Dressed in a sleeveless tank top, the Alabastan princess shivered slightly in the chilly night air, then seated herself next to Amelia on the bathhouse steps.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for back there." Vivi began, gazing down at the ground. "I got a little carried away, and I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't said something to them."

"Yeah, they are pretty scary right?" Amelia smiled. A loud crash drew her gaze back to the ship, where an argument had broken out over some darkness-induced mishap.

"Well, if you don't mind my asking, how did you all start traveling with them?" Vivi asked.

Amelia paused to think. With all that had happened in just the past two days, the events leading up to their alliance actually really seemed like a long time ago.

"It's a long story." She said at last. "But I guess you can say we kind of needed each other."

Vivi made a thoughtful noise, seeming to take that in, and it became Amelia's turn to make an inquiry.

"Will you be okay letting us- I mean letting Miss Lina look at the ancient writing?"

Vivi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I am a little worried." She admitted, turning her gaze skyward.

"A while ago, a pirate tried to take over Alabasta, kind of like these men are doing now." Vivi explained. "He wanted Pluton, which is said to have the power to destroy whole islands. And that's why the World Government forbids anyone from reading the Poneglyphs, to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands. It looks like they changed their mind."

Amelia blinked. Knowing that, it didn't seem right to her to press the issue.

"But if it means that much to you, I think I can trust you." Vivi smiled. "Especially after you trusted me."

Amelia opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Zelgadis' distant calls, urging her to hurry aboard. Luke and Milina emerged, making their way to the ship as well, and Amelia got up to follow them.

"Be safe okay?" She waved back at Vivi.

"You too." Vivi replied.

* * *

...

* * *

Standing at the entrance to the Ukkari-Alabasta tunnel, Lina could only gape at the sight before her. It wasn't even the tunnel itself, which seemed to stretch out endlessly into the earth, so deep that even a pulsed light spell wasn't sufficient to illuminate its depths. No, it was what was inside it.

A gargantuan crab sat within the channel, as tall as a two-story inn and twice as wide, armed with a pair of stubby pincers, the right larger than the left. A carriage attached to its back enabled passengers to sit comfortably, with a lamp on either end to help the crustacean see where it was going. Lina grimaced as her gaze fell on the creature's oddly articulate face, which seemed to be permanently stretched into a creepy leering expression.

Lina turned when she heard the princess's entourage approaching. She noticed Lucci following behind them, having changed into a dark suit jacket, barely visible in the dark if it were not for the pigeon on his shoulder. Lina scanned the agent's expression, finding it uninformative as always. In the distance, the ship's mast began to move, picking up speed as its sails caught the wind and carried it past Ukkari's shores.

"So this is 'Scissors'?" Lina asked the princess. "Is it really safe to ride?"

"Hmm?" Vivi blinked as she passed. "Of course. Watch."

Locating a ladder attached to the crustacean's rear, Vivi clambered into the carriage, followed by her royal guards. To its credit, the crab remained motionless until the last passenger had entered, and Vivi pulled the carriage door closed behind them.

"Good luck!" Lina flashed them a thumbs up, and Vivi returned the gesture. Acknowledging that there were no more passengers for this trip, the crab scuttled off into the depths, the glare of its attached lighting vanishing into the distance.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Gourry called from behind, his footsteps growing closer. Lina turned with an exasperated sigh, raising a hand to explain, then elected to wave the swordsman off without saying anything.

"Why is he coming?" Lucci asked suddenly, his voice betraying a slight hint of irritation.

"Because." Lina wheeled around and gave the agent a glare. "He's my protector. What other reason do you need?"

"Hn, what good is a protector that can't fight." Lucci replied, turning and heading back toward the rooms. "But suit yourself."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina yawned and stretched her arms as the first rays of sunlight crawled across her face. The women's room she'd reserved was silent, now that it was just her. She pulled her sheets back up over her chin. They had stayed up pretty late last night. Just another five or ten minutes.

A soft knock on her door caused her to open her sleepy eyes.

"What?" She mumbled groggily.

"Miss Lina right? You have a message." The bathhouse owner replied from the other side. "It's from the princess."

Lina sat up. "Yeah? What about?"

"She says they're ready. Ready for what though? She wouldn't tell me."

Lina rose quickly and put on her clothes, attaching her cape and snapping her shoulder plates into place. No turning back now. It was do or die.

* * *

...

* * *

Amelia stood at the ship's bow, gazing ahead into the distance. They'd experienced a few bouts of rough weather during the night, but now the climate was stable, which Kalifa informed her was an indication that they were nearing their destination. And indeed, when she squinted her eyes just right, Amelia could make out a thin strip of land on the distant horizon.

"Hey, good work back there." Jabra arrived, leaning against another post nearby. "Sometimes that Lucci guy, he can get a little, you know."

"Yeah." Amelia nodded, moving closer to a comfortable conversational distance.

"I guess the life of an assassin really was the right one for him." Jabra added. "I bet that guy has no regrets at all."

"So do you have anything that you regret then, Mr. Jabra?" Amelia asked.

Jabra made a thoughtful noise. "Yeah, I guess I do."

For a while the two stood in the morning breeze while the landmass in the distance grew closer. A flock of birds soared overhead as the shore came into focus, the bright sand standing in stark contrast to the deep blue sea.

"Say, about your friend there." Jabra tilted his head toward the back of the ship, where Zelgadis sat, poring over a map. "What is he? Is that an ability or something?"

Amelia turned to look at Zelgadis. "Oh." She replied. "That happened because of an experiment that somebody did to him. One of the reasons we're traveling is to try and find a cure, and turn Mr. Zelgadis back to normal."

"A cure eh?" Jabra brought his fingers to his chin. "I might know about something like that."

* * *

...

* * *

Baby 5 looked on from her perch atop Buffalo's back, high above the island and out of sight, scanning the seas with a pair of binoculars.

"I've got something!" She shouted to her partner over the rushing wind and the constant drone of his propellers. "Navy ship, approaching from the south like Violet said. That's the target right?"

"Sounds like it!" Buffalo replied. "I'm takin' us a little lower. You call up that other guy and tell him to dive in."

* * *

...

* * *

Something was approaching, cutting across the surface of the sea, moving so quickly that it seemed to be just a blur of white sea spray. It closed the distance in an instant, then exploded from the water, landing softly on the deck of the ship.

Amelia had to crane her head up to get a good look at their opponent. A man, or a person at least, standing over twice as tall as she did, with long, lanky legs taking up well over half his height. A flowing white robe and bearded red mask concealed most of his remaining features, but the implications were clear enough. Another agent of Zero, an Aigis.

"Hey! We've got company!" Jabra shouted to alert the others, having already transformed into his hybrid wolf form. He lunged, thrusting out a hand to pierce their foe with his claws, even as he drew back a fist for a follow-up attack.

The Aigis dropped to the ground to avoid the first blow, sweeping out his leg to knock Jabra off his feet. His gloved hand shot out from beneath his garment, spurting a stream of some thick oily substance, drenching Jabra as he got back his bearings. Then, hopping back a little, the Aigis kicked the air and set it alight, flinging a blade of burning wind directly at his opponent.

Fire touched oil, and Jabra screamed as he was ignited, the flames burning so fiercely that their tips reached the sails. Thinking quickly, Amelia invoked an Aqua Create, summoning a stream of water that erupted around her beleaguered ally. That only seemed to exacerbate the problem, as the burning oil hissed and sputtered, sending flaming droplets splattering across the deck.

"Isn't he a Devil Fruit user?" Zelgadis said as he arrived. "I thought they couldn't handle water?"

But Amelia could see it; a thin sheen of glistening oil that covered every inch of the Aigis agent's skin and clothing. Droplets of water that fell on his body simply slid off, repelled by this protective coating, never once making contact with the flesh underneath. That was how he could swim, how he could overcome his natural weakness.

The remaining CP9 agents arrived, taking up their battle stances, and a cannonball slammed into the sea surface, throwing up a fountain of white salty spray. A trio of warships could be seen in the distance, approaching from the mouth of the river, while their opponent took advantage of the distraction to vanish back into the murky depths. The flames guttered out at last, having consumed their remaining fuel, and Jabra collapsed onto the deck, burned and breathing heavily. Palms glowing with soft white radiance, Amelia rushed to her ally and called upon her magic to heal him.

A barrage of explosive shells slammed into the deck from above, shattering the front mast and rocking the vessel on its keel. Amelia was thrown onto her side, and she turned to look at the source.

What she had assumed to be a bird at first was revealed to be a large man, dressed in a thick fur coat with his arms spread out like wings. Spinning projections around his ankles and neck seemed to keep him aloft, while a slender woman stood on his back, dressed in a skimpy maid's outfit. One of her hands was transformed into the barrel of a cannon, a tendril of smoke curling up from its muzzle.

A blast of icy darts forced the airborne pair to swerve away before the woman could fire again. Invoking a Levitation, Milina signaled to Luke with a hand, and the pair took off to bring the battle into the skies.

"Let's go." Kaku waved to Fukuro and Blueno, and the bull-man produced an air-door, closing it once the other two had stepped through. Kumadori and Kalifa rushed to the fore, eyes scanning frantically for any sign of the underwater fighter.

"Ah! Where is he? Where is that oily bastard?!" Jabra exploded to his feet as his injuries were healed, bounding forward to join his two colleagues. "I'm gonna rip out his throat once I get my claws into him!"

* * *

...

* * *

The cool dampness of the undersea tunnel was replaced by a sweltering desert heat as Lina and her party stepped out from the carriage on their crab. Turning, she gazed up at the plateau that rose before her, and quickly located the white marble steps leading up to the nearest city entrance.

To her mild surprise, the hooded guards at the gates made no attempt to impede their progress, allowing the group to pass with nothing more than a nod. Lina gave silent thanks to Vivi in her mind.

Alubarna's streets were alive with activity, packed with crowds of haggling customers and merchants calling out their wares from behind covered stalls. The air was filled with the aromas of freshly baked goods, and the scents of roasted meats that could almost be tasted on the tongue. It sure didn't seem like a place where there was a crisis going on.

Lina narrowed her eyes as she spotted groups of dark-suited agents moving through the crowds, and she waved her party to her, leading them through alleys and back corridors whenever possible to avoid notice. It would take a little longer, but the city was easy enough to navigate, for the memories Lina had been shown told her that all of the main avenues converged on the central plaza that stretched before the palace. Skirting around the city square, the group approached the great marble palace from the rear, and Lina invoked a Levitation to raise herself and Gourry to the second level, where the royal family and their servants lived. Lucci followed behind, stepping through the air as easily as if it were solid ground.

The palace's second level was in dire need of repair, the open areas littered with blocks of stone, boards of wood and bundles of metal beams, all with no one present to move them. A partially carved statue of a stylized falcon sat forgotten in a corner, while sacks of dirt for the manse's gardens were left half-spilled on the uneven marble tiles. Lina noted the reason out of the corner of her eye; all of the workers had been called away to work on excavating the tomb, visible from her vantage point, laboring under the harsh sun while suited agents watched callously.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would show up." A smooth and exceptionally articulate voice chimed in from the interior. Several heartbeats later, a masked man in a white suit and coat sauntered through the door. His movements were delicate, almost like a bird, and the impression was enhanced when he cocked his head to regard the three of them for a moment.

"The young master of Dressrosa should really choose his allies more carefully." He spoke again, the movements of his mouth revealing that what appeared to be a mask was merely white make-up, drawn over a face so utterly inexpressive as to appear to be literally made of porcelain.

Lina cursed inwardly at her bad luck. She said nothing, merely moving to square her stance, while Gourry drew his sword and shifted protectively in front of her. Lucci edged toward the side, adjusting his tie, and his pigeon took off from his shoulder, flapping away to a safe distance.

For his part, the Aigis agent merely tilted his bowler hat with a gloved hand, then continued to amble lazily about the palace grounds.

"After our dear translator vanished for the evening, then returned insisting that we all station ourselves in the south to prepare for some intruders, one could not help but be suspicious, no?" He continued. "And when the departed princess returns that very morning, well it's a good thing I stayed aware. And now, the fact that you're here proves that there are no coincidences."

"What'd you do with her?!" Lina demanded.

"Me?" The Aigis agent pointed to himself. "I didn't do anything at all. I simply left her with the chief. Of course, if some pirates happened to break in, and the members of the royal family happened to get hurt in the turmoil, well that would be very unfortunate wouldn't it?"

"Enough talk." Lucci cut in, shifting to his towering hybrid form. He dashed forward, firing off a fusillade of piercing air bullets, leading into an overhead swipe of his black curved claws.

The Aigis agent bent his body to avoid the initial barrage, then stepped forward into the blow, easily absorbing the impact from Lucci's upper arm at close range. Lucci shifted his weight, delivering a roundhouse kick from the left, and his opponent somersaulted back, landing on a pile of wooden planks at the edge of the wall.

"Rune Flare!" Lina called, conjuring a incandescent barrage of flaming spears, fired right at their opponent as his feet touched down. If she couldn't match these guys in speed, she would just have to anticipate their movements, calculate where they would be in the next instant and aim her spells there.

She saw the agent reach down, his hand closing around one of the boards he was standing on, and then the spell hit. Waves of pulsating heat spilled out from the blast, reducing the remaining planks to embers and causing the stone beneath to melt and bubble. Lina winced slightly; Vivi would just have to forgive this much.

Lina blinked as the flames faded, revealing the Aigis agent still standing, with a single wooden plank held in front of his body - the same one that he had reached down to grab. But that didn't make sense; there was no way a spell as powerful as the Rune Flare could be blocked by some rubbish that had just been picked up off the ground.

"Wh-what?"

Lina couldn't believe her eyes. The board was being tainted, invaded by black and red lines, which crawled across its length, splitting and multiplying like the veins of a leaf. The board's very form was warping as wicked spikes sprouted from its surface, and an array of curved, meat-carving hooks extended from its head. The section in the agent's grasp began to shrink, taking on the shape of a weapon's handle, fitting itself comfortably into its wielder's hand.

And the agent's hand had shifted too, the formerly innocuous appendage replaced by a thick, brutish fist, with knotted red skin that looked more fitting on an ogre or a troll.

"Ah, my apologies for the appearance." The agent said as he noticed Lina staring. "It's just that I only acquired this ability recently you see. They say that Mythical Zoan fruits are even rarer than Logias, and I have yet to get used to mine."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** We're finally here, and it's time to talk about motifs, as promised.

Now as you may know, CP9's members follow an animal motif, and their individual themes are as follows.

**Lucci** \- Leopard  
**Kaku** \- Giraffe  
**Jabra** \- Wolf  
**Blueno** \- Bull  
**Kumadori** \- Lion (frequently mistaken for Octopus)  
**Fukuro** \- Owl  
**Kalifa** \- Sheep  
**Nero** \- Weasel  
**Spandam** \- Panda

And as I stated earlier, CP0's members also follow a theme in this story, specifically a Yokai (Japanese folklore monsters) theme.

The long-armed member is based on a Tenaga-jin, which is a human-like creature with extremely long arms, which it uses to grab fish out of the ocean. This is mirrored by that particular agent's strategy of knocking opponents into the water to finish off there.

The long-legged member is based on the Ashinaga-jin, which is the other half of the Ashinaga-Tenaga pair. This thing has very long legs, which it uses to wade into the ocean while the Tenaga sits on his shoulders. This is represented here by his ability to swim, and if he had been deployed alongside the long-armed member, the two of them would fight using a sort of above-and-below tandem style that would be very annoying to deal with. He uses the Paramecia-type Oil Oil Fruit (Oiru Oiru no Mi).

The third member is based on the Oni, and his ability to convert ordinary objects to weapons comes from the expression "an Oni with an iron club", meaning something that is already formidable being made even more so through the use of a tool or a weapon. His Devil Fruit is the Human Human Fruit: Model Oni.


	14. Chapter 14 - Promises Kept

**Chapter 14: ****Promises Kept**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lucci grimaced and backed away, putting some distance between himself and his opponent. The resources available to the Celestial Dragons were truly astounding; to think that they could even obtain a Mythical Zoan for one of their cronies to eat.

"Well that was surprising." The Aigis agent spoke, batting away the last few tendrils of flame. "I can see now how you might have defeated our colleague. 201 was new to the unit, and perhaps lacking in some of the essential skills that can only be developed from experience. But it seems I'm going to have to take you three a little more seriously."

Lucci sprang into the air, sending a blade of wind scything toward the Aigis, angled a little to the man's right side. His target dodged left as predicted while the attack struck the floor, cutting a deep gouge into the layered stone. Pumping his legs, Lucci dove into the cloud of dust thrown up by his attack, emerging from its side with fists thrust out in the stance of the Six King Gun.

To Lucci's surprise, the Aigis' blank expression remained unchanged, while his free hand was already swinging up to parry with easy precision. The limb expanded, muscles bulging and thick veins rippling across its rapidly reddening skin. With the flick of a wrist, he batted Lucci's arms away, applying such force that the CP9 agent was sent stumbling in the direction of the blow. Turning and shrinking his arm back to its normal size, the Aigis segued the motion into a spinning swing, slamming his club into Lucci's side. Curved spikes punched easily through Lucci's resistance and he staggered back, clutching his ribs with a hand and wiping a trickle of blood from his lips.

Lina thrust out her arms, conjuring an arrow of shimmering white. Their opponent anticipated the attack, bending his body before the missile was even airborne and allowing it to pass. The swordsman dashed in from behind, his blade streaking in a downward arc toward the Aigis agent's head, only to be sent tumbling back into a nearby wall by a pre-placed kick. Useless.

"Hey Lina, I've seen this kind of thing before, back on the sky island when we were fighting the mammoth guy." The swordsman said as he got back to his feet. "It's like he can read your mind or something, so he knows what you're going to do before you even do it."

Useless and ignorant. Lucci was well aware of the existence of Haki, and while he considered himself to be a peer of the Navy's Vice Admirals in raw combat ability, his attempts to unlock this power had been regrettably unsuccessful thus far.

"Oh yeah? Well that seems pretty unfair." Lina said. Raising her hands, she summoned a shield of air around herself. Their opponent rose to the challenge, snatching up a metal pole and transmuting it into a wicked, barbed lance. He heaved it into the barrier, its tip sheathed in shearing wind. The two effects cancelled each other out on impact, releasing a piercing howl of rushing air, followed by a roaring gale that blew the girl back.

"How'd you guys win then?" She asked, landing back on her feet.

"It's like, when he got a little disturbed or scared, he couldn't read our minds as well." The swordsman replied, shifting to a wide, defensive stance. "It happened when Luke used his Ruby Red Sword on him."

Lucci covered his face with crossed arms as the Aigis slammed his weapon into a block of masonry, sending jagged chunks of stone whizzing toward him like cannonballs. Emotion wasn't going to work on an Aigis, their mental conditioning was absolute.

"Lucci, Gourry, you guys cover me." Lina called, as if in willful contradiction to Lucci's thoughts. She raised her arms, forming a cross with her four talismans, and the jewels embedded within the amulets pulsed with an eerie red light.

"I've got something that I wanna try." She said.

* * *

...

* * *

Standing at the ship's stern, Amelia spun around when she heard a splash coming from behind her, followed by the sound of soft footfalls on the roof of the cabin. Zelgadis rushed to her side, flinging a wave of fiery missiles at the Aigis as he landed. Their opponent blocked the attack with an arm, and the oily film around him was set alight, wreathing his form in bright yellow flames.

Zelgadis' look of satisfaction turned to one of shock when the masked man simply hopped down from his perch, unperturbed and unharmed by the fiery conflagration. Indeed, he seemed to be feeding the blaze with his power, blackening the wooden deck with every step, radiating such heat that Amelia could feel it on her arms and face. With his white robes waving along with the flickering flames, and only his dark mask clearly distinguishable within the inferno, the Aigis resembled nothing so much as a fiery demon, here to claim their souls for the afterlife.

Jabra bounded over the cabin, thrusting a fist at their opponent's face, which the Aigis repelled with an open palm, sending the wolf-man stumbling back. Amelia fired off a Freeze Bullet, flinging an icy blast at the masked man from behind. This he shattered with a kick, sending glittering fragments scattering across the deck. Kumadori rounded the corner, attacking with a wave of writhing pinkish threads, but any strand that approached too closely was left blackened and curled by the ferocious heat.

"Watch out you guys, this bastard's using Armament." Jabra said, looking down at his swollen knuckles. "And Iron Body doesn't do a damn thing against fire like that."

Kalifa was the last to arrive, leaping onto the cabin, spraying a stream of bubbles from her outstretched palms. Their opponent swept out a leg to brush off the attack, but instead the foam clung to his body, extinguishing the fires wherever they touched.

"Ooh, you're the first person to stay standing after taking that one." Kalifa said with a smirk. "But it seems your protection wasn't as fortunate."

She was right; the oily film covering their opponent was disappearing, dissolving into the foam. Even when he generated more it was to no avail as the bubbles absorbed it, swallowing the oil greedily. The masked man paused to consider his options.

"Strange how these abilities work sometimes, right?" Kalifa continued. "Looks like soap beats oil."

Amelia noticed an explosion of propellant in the distance, moments before a pair of cannonballs crashed into the water on either side of the ship. Kalifa's smirk vanished as the impacts drenched the deck, washing the foam from the Aigis agent's body. Jabra lunged in desperation, but the Aigis noticed too. Dodging around a series of swipes, he sprinted to the railing, reforming his coating before diving into the sea.

Zelgadis ran to the side above where the agent had vanished. "Damnit, we lost our chance."

"Lost?" Amelia rubbed her chin. Maybe they did lose a good chance there, but they still learned something about their opponent. The trouble now was finding him underwater, when they could neither see nor hear him.

She glanced over at Kumadori, whose pinkish mane was retracting back to its normal length.

"Mr. Kumadori?" She asked. "Could you use your hair to feel for him underwater?"

Kumadori's single open eye widened in comprehension. "Yoyoi! By my honor, it shall be done."

"If you can tell me where he is, I can get him out." Zelgadis turned toward the group.

"Then we'll take care of him once he's in the air." Jabra said. "And make sure those Navy bastards don't interfere with us again."

* * *

...

* * *

Luke rose into the air, arriving in the midst of a swirling free-fire zone. The once-pristine sky was fouled by drifting clouds of choking black smoke, remnants of explosions borne from the clashing powers. The spinning-man weaved between the blasts, rotating extensions around his ankles and neck slicing the air, maneuvering nimbly despite his oversized frame. Perched on his back, his female partner called out the positions of the CP9 agents, who dashed after them in pursuit.

The CP9 agents closed, and Luke's mouth gaped as the woman's body flowed like clay being molded, reshaping itself into a dizzying arsenal of strange weapons. Kaku's twin swords were countered by a pair of chain-laced sawblades, whose spinning teeth pulled his weapons aside and tore into his chest. Fukuro and Blueno were forced back by a barrage of rockets that turned in midair to match their movements, leaving twisting vapor trails as they flew on tails of fire.

Luke shot off a fireball, and it was countered by a cannon blast, the two projectiles colliding in a flash of flame and smoke. A chunk of conjured ice sailed up from Milina's position below, and a torrent of fire poured from yet another contraption, devouring the spell utterly.

Their opponent reverted to her human form, her arms stretching out to form a pair of long-barreled guns. She trained them on Luke and Milina, and they wasted no time gawking, throwing their flight spells into zig-zagging jinks and dodges.

The cannons barked, firing off volleys of projectiles that exploded in midair, showering the two of them with jagged metal fragments. Luke's Raywing pulsed as a hail of shrapnel broke through its boundary, and he covered his face, feeling the shards biting into his arms and embedding themselves in his armor.

A jolt of panic strobed through Luke's mind.

"Milina!" He gasped.

Lacking any protection beyond a leather shoulder pad, Milina was breathing heavily, lines of blood rising from over a dozen cuts over her body. A trickle of red flowed from her lips, and though her hand was glowing white, it looked like she was having trouble concentrating over the pain.

"We assassins of the Donquixote family always complete our mission." The other woman crowed.

Luke felt a torrent of red rage welling up within him, but he shook his head to force it down. Getting angry wasn't going to help anyone, Milina least of all. They were over the sea, with nowhere to hide and recuperate, so they just needed to beat these two here.

"Dark Mist." Luke intoned, summoning a cloud of black fog around their two opponents. Something tugged at his old memories; it was a spell that he'd used a lot before meeting Milina, back when he was still working with the guild.

The CP9 members seemed to take the hint, pulling out of the engagement and regrouping nearby.

"Hey Blueno." Luke called, forming a ball of blue-white flame between his hands. "Can those doors of yours take things other than people?"

Blueno paused, glancing at the spell, and responded with a nod.

* * *

...

* * *

As everyone moved into position, Amelia found her thoughts drifting to something she had said the night before, about the price of taking a life. She'd never really considered what it meant to her personally, and it struck her as a bit odd that she was thinking about it in a life or death situation. Amelia knew that in the past, she had never shied away from using lethal force, not when dealing with those who were willing to murder and maim for the cause of evil. Nor was she oblivious to some of the things that Miss Lina and the others got up to at times.

Still, she felt like she owed something to her opponent, silent and faceless as he was. CP9 didn't talk much about their sibling organization; their motives, employers and responsibilities. Amelia resolved to ask about it later, so she could have something to carry with her after the fact.

The pungent odor of oil jolted Amelia from her thoughts, and she noticed the sea surface boiling and churning around them. Oily globules rose from the depths, bursting into the air and forming a dense fog that settled around the ship. Amelia raised her hands, summoning a cylindrical barrier around their vessel. Noticing a blur of motion beyond the haze, and a bright light growing closer, she closed her eyes, hoping her spell would hold.

Fire touched fuel, forming a roaring flame front that raced through the fog, setting off a thunderous blast that rippled out across the water. An infernal cloud of bright yellow flame belched skyward, leaving a column of vapor and choking black smoke in its wake. Releasing her barrier, Amelia stumbled and fell back onto the deck, her throat itching and her eyes tearing up from the fumes.

"Hey! Amelia, are you okay? Don't push yourself too hard." Zelgadis kneeled down beside her. At least he didn't seem too affected.

Amelia nodded and cleared her throat. "Don't worry about me Mr. Zelgadis. You have to keep going on the plan."

Kumadori regained his bearings and steadied himself on the deck, extending tendrils of hair out over the ship's railings. As each bundle slipped into the water, it separated into hundreds of individual strands, which quickly spread out in every direction. This was no massed wave, nor anything so simple as a single solid shape, but the fine control of thousands of individual strands over hundreds of meters. Sweat poured down Kumadori's face as he maintained concentration.

"Yoyoi! There, there he is!" He pointed at a patch of water, tracing with his finger where their opponent was moving.

Zelgadis vaulted over the railing, bracing himself with a mooring rope, dipping his free hand into the sea. A column of water exploded upward where Kumadori was pointing, flinging their masked opponent into the air. Jabra and Kalifa were already motion, racing over the water to catch their target.

The Aigis recovered quickly, lashing out with a leg, sending a crescent of searing flame sailing toward his attackers. Forcing her vision into focus, Amelia conjured a half-dozen balls of light within the path of the attack, watching as they drew in the flames and extinguished them.

Jabra sped forward, taking advantage of the masked man's surprise, seizing his outstretched leg with a hand and wrapping the other around his neck. Kalifa weaved around them, running her hands along the Aigis' body, leaving him covered in soapy residue while he contended with her colleague. A burst of cannonfire boomed from the warships, but Kalifa was ready. Backing away from the brawl, she batted each projectile away with a swift kick, sending them soaring up to explode harmlessly overhead.

Jabra leaned into the grapple, using his hybrid bulk to tilt the masked man back until the two of them were upside down, still spinning through the air. Another midair kick sent them plummeting into the sea, where the weakening effects of water took hold immediately, leaving both men struggling feebly. A pinkish tendril snaked out from the deck, snagging Jabra by the wrist and carrying him to safety, while the masked man sank beneath the surface, his white robes fading into the murky depths.

* * *

...

* * *

Blueno stepped into his dimension, pulling the door shut behind him, and the outline of the entrance vanished as if it had never been there at all. Noticing some movement at the corner of his eye, Luke turned back just as his Dark Mist was blown apart by a gust from the spinning-man's propellers.

Luke flung out a spread of Flare Arrows, and their two opponents swerved to avoid them, the woman shooting down those that were still on target. Kaku darted in under the distraction, shifting to his giraffe-man form. His twin swords flashed like silver arcs in the morning light, clashing with the woman's shifting blades, while his elongated limbs kept his body out of harm's reach.

Fukuro sprinted up from below, drawing the spinning-man into a frantic brawl, forcing him to split his attention between the barrage of flying fists and keeping steady for his partner. The creak of a door-hinge from above was their warning to evacuate, and the agents withdrew, running back for as much distance as they could manage. The woman glanced up, just in time to see Blueno pull his air door back, releasing a ball of roaring blue flame that was now bearing down upon them.

Luke covered his eyes against the glare of the blast, his ears ringing as the shockwave blew past. He smirked when he spotted the bodies of his opponents falling from the base of the explosion, two figures trailing streams of smoke while they spiraled toward the sea.

To Luke's surprise, the other man shook himself awake, his propellers spinning up and slowing his descent.

"Shit! This is more than we signed up for." The man cursed as he noticed his unconscious partner. He reached out with a hand, grabbing her limp body and flinging her onto his back. "The young master said Violet's safety was top priority, so let's get her and get outta here!"

"You're not getting away!" Luke roared as the two turned toward the island. Sparks crackled between his fingers while he prepared a spell that would finish them off for good, when a soft hand on his shoulder made him stop. He felt a tingle where it touched.

"Let them go Luke." Milina said.

"B-but… they… you-" Luke tried to argue.

"For Viola." She finished.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina stared into her opponent's face as the power of the demon kings flowed through her. It was like staring at a clay statue for all the emotion that it showed.

Well, that was going to change.

_"Lord of the dreams that terrify, sword of cold and darkness, free yourself from the heaven's bonds."_ She chanted. _"Become one with my power, one with my body and let us walk the path of destruction together."_

The air around her distorted, as if something were pressing against the fabric of reality from outside.

Perhaps made aware of the danger from reading her mind, the Aigis immediately turned, rounding on Lina with his full attention. Lucci leapt into the fray, stabbing and striking, his arms moving with blinding, blurring speed. Yet the Aigis was faster still, parrying every thrust without any wasted movement, while still continuing his implacable advance. His arms expanded, seizing Lucci's neck with one ogre-ish paw. With the other, he smashed his spiked club into Lucci's chest and twisted, leaving the CP9 agent reeling and gasping for breath.

Gourry darted in, his sword clanging against the Aigis' iron resistance. A one-two punch sent him tumbling back, knocked out of commission.

Lina raised her arms as black bolts poured out from a rent in the air, tearing through space with a piercing screech that scarred its sound on the mind. The Aigis loomed over her, growing in height, his thin frown replaced by the devilish grin of his Devil Fruit's true form.

_"Power that can smash even the souls of the gods!"_ Lina cried. _"Ragna Blade!"_

The black bolts condensed, forming a cohesive blade of shifting darkness. No, not darkness, but nothingness, a sword-shaped hole in the world.

The Aigis agent froze in place, eyes wide and trembling. The power of the Lord of Nightmares was one with its mind, and to draw from one would inevitably carry the other.

Lina winced as a dull ache spread through her body, growing into a searing current of pain. She forced herself forward. She would only have one shot.

* * *

...

* * *

Agent 0197 stood in place as the girl rushed toward him, a shard of nothingness clutched between her hands. His birth name was long forgotten, purged by the ruthless mental conditioning that all Aigis agents underwent, removed along with any emotions that would hinder them in their tasks. Pity. Remorse. Fear. Results were mixed of course, but 0197 was an exemplar of the Aigis organization's values. He felt none of these, knew none of these.

But if that was the case, then why couldn't he move? His arms quivered, his breaths were quick and shallow, and his heartbeat was a rapid, pounding staccato in his ears. 0197 felt, but he didn't understand.

There was a fifth presence with them, seeming to originate from the girl's black blade, while simultaneously filling the space around them. It was quiescent and had no discernible intent, but its mere proximity was suffocating in its intensity.

In the eye of his mind, 0197 perceived a second reality, superimposed over his own. He saw a great black sea, limitless in scope, fathomless in its depth. Countless worlds floated upon it, like fragile soap bubbles being carried to and fro by the ever shifting currents. A wave moved across its surface, a mere wrinkle upon its infinite expanse. It washed over a dozen worlds, consigning their contents to oblivion, even as more bubbles rose anew in its wake.

With an exertion of will, 0197 forced his arm to move, haltingly at first, picking up speed and building momentum for a killing blow. He was still faster, and his reach was longer, so he swung low, aiming his spiked club at the girl's vulnerable neck. The girl's eyes widened fractionally as she realized what would happen.

The blonde swordsman rose to his feet, but he was still disarmed, and the distance between them was too great. 0197 would live, and they would die for his mission.

The swordsman dashed forward, kicking the ground a dozen times in the blink of an eye, closing the distance in an instant and snatching up his fallen sword. Their weapons clanged, and the momentum of the blow forced the agent's strike aside. The swordsman vaulted overhead, dropping to the ground, rolling away as the black blade sliced into the agent's chest. 0197 didn't scream, for there was no time to as the blade passed soundlessly through his flesh, deadening his mind with black oblivion.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina released her spell and allowed it to dissipate, collapsing onto her knees and breathing heavily. She gazed up, watching the color drain from her opponent's form. Cracks crawled across his body, causing it to collapse into a heap, where it mouldered into a pile of white ash that blew away on the wind.

Lucci pulled himself to his feet, and Lina beckoned for him to come, her hands pulsing with a warm, white light. Gourry arrived as well, breathing a sigh of relief as he sat down next to her.

"Mastering the Shave technique in such a short time." Lucci spoke as Lina sealed up his deepest wounds. "Not bad."

"Ah, don't sweat it." Gourry grinned. "I think I've gotten the hang of it, but I've still got a ways to go to catch up to you guys."

Lucci turned toward the palace interior, and his pigeon fluttered down and perched itself on his shoulder.

"I'll leave the two of you here." He said. "I have some… commitments."

* * *

...

* * *

Spandam leaned forward in his chair, cursing as his bandage-covered fingers slipped from the handle of his drawer. He felt a brief pang of regret for sending all of his attendants away to delay the intruder, who must have snuck into the palace somehow. Yes, there was no way anyone could have beaten CP-0.

Spandam glanced at the doorway, confirming that Funkfreed was still doing his job. The elephant-sword was in his full hybrid form, his trunk transformed into a broad blade that was held held firmly against the princess's neck. Her royal guards stood off to one side, fuming with barely suppressed rage.

"You better be ready to protect me from whoever this is." Spandam reminded them. "And I hope for your sakes that you all had nothing to do with it, because once CP-0 gets back, we're going to hold a court of enquiry regarding palace security around here."

Spandam grasped at his drawer handle again. He still had his Devil Fruit, and so as long as the palace guards could hold off the intruder for long enough, he could eat it, and use whatever power it held to take down the interloper himself. He exclaimed with joy as his drawer slipped open, but the noise died in his throat when his eyes scanned over the empty space within.

"Searching for this?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. Spandam looked up at the windowsill where a young, purple-haired man was sitting, draped in a black priest's mantle and clutching a wooden staff in one hand. With his other, he was tossing the Devil Fruit to himself, running his fingers along the swirling contours of its skin.

"You give that back right now!" Spandam hissed, pointing one trembling hand in Funkfreed's direction. "Or the princess gets it!"

The priest cocked his head, taking in Spandam's threat for heartbeat. His outline blurred and distorted, and Spandam's mouth gaped as he vanished entirely. The director turned at the sound of a surprised trumpet from Funkfreed to see the priest hovering in midair, with the astonished princess carried bridal-style in his arms.

"Ahh, what a shame." The priest shook his head, lowering himself to the ground and letting the princess down. "And I was just getting to like your colleagues in the CP9. But I suppose in every bunch, there's always room for one bad apple."

He smirked. "Isn't that right, Lucci?"

A squeak escaped from Spandam's throat as he spotted Lucci standing in the doorway, the agent's black coat and leopard-print shirt stained with patches of dark blood.

"You know Xellos, some of your crewmates have been looking for you." Lucci said to the priest.

"Oh, well they know me." Xellos replied, shrugging. "I've been here and there."

Spandam quivered as Lucci's gaze turned toward him, while Xellos motioned for the princess to leave. She did as bidden, filing out with her guards while Lucci closed the double doors behind them. Funkfreed stomped forward, raising his bladed trunk menacingly, but a sharp glare from Lucci sent the elephant scrambling back in terror. He reverted to his weapon form, shrinking into a curved sabre that clattered to the ground.

"L-Lucci." Spandam stammered.

"Chief." Lucci nodded, picking up Funkfreed and attaching the sword to his belt. "I believe I made a promise to you Chief, and now I intend to keep it."

"W-wait Lucci." Spandam sputtered. "It was all just a big misunderstanding. I can explain it to the government. I'll give you your job back, no problem. Or money. Servants. Anything you want! I'll let you be director, and you'll never hear from me again. I'll tell you everything I know. I'll-"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, dear Chief." Lucci said. He leaned over Spandam's immobile form, extending his left index finger, the appendage already covered in arterial blood. His face warped into an expression that Spandam had never seen before, a predatory smile laced with pure, unrestrained joy.

"Wait! Lucci no-"

* * *

...

* * *

Lucci stood back up, producing a tissue which he used to wipe the blood from his face. He glanced over at Xellos, who was seated back on the windowsill, smiling serenely at the proceedings.

Lucci's gaze was drawn back to the desk when the transponder snail began to ring. He paused for a moment, then picked up the receiver.

"This is Rob Lucci." He spoke into the mouthpiece.

"Hey, Chief, you'll never guess who's coming to pay you a visit." Jabra's voice said, the snail's expression mimicking his arrogant smirk.

"Oh, it's you Lucci." He corrected himself. "So does that mean the Chief is…"

"Yeah." Lucci finished for him.

There was a shuffling noise on the other end as the Amelia girl took the transponder.

"Hello? Is Miss Lina there?" She asked.

"Lina isn't here right now, but she is doing just fine." Xellos chimed in. At some point, he had gotten off his perch and sidled up to Lucci from behind.

"You can just stay where you are." He added. "Lina and I will conduct our business here, and then we'll come meet you out there."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And that's the second to last chapter of the Cipher Pol Arc, with what is essentially the epilogue to come. Then it's off to the next arc!


	15. Chapter 15 - A Cure in Sight

**Chapter 15: A Cure in Sight**

**Cipher Pol Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Amelia sat in the shade, looking on as their two crews dropped anchors from the pair of warships they had seized. With their original vessel battered and barely remaining afloat, CP9 needed a new ship, while Miss Lina had been very clear about wanting one for herself too. Zelgadis and Luke labored aboard the deck of the one they had claimed, going through the motions of sailing and ship maintenance under the watchful eyes of Kaku and Kalifa.

At Amelia's insistence, the third warship had been allowed to go free, with the crews of the other two evacuated onboard. It wouldn't have been right to punish the sailors, who were only guilty of being roped in by their scheming superiors. Gazing past the mouth of the Sandora River and the cityscape of Nanohana, Amelia could see them sailing off into the east, vanishing over the horizon.

Jabra hopped down onto the shore, joining Amelia and Milina under the tent they had fashioned from some planks and spare sails. Pulling up a chair, he accepted the offer of a washcloth from Milina, which he used to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Amelia cleared her throat.

"Say, Mr. Jabra." She began. "What does CP-0 do, exactly?"

It was a question she'd been meaning to ask ever since their battle concluded. They had killed a man that morning, and while she wasn't exactly having mixed feelings on the matter, there was something within her that wouldn't settle until she knew a little more about their adversary. Even a few facts to remember would be better than an unmarked grave at the bottom of the sea.

Jabra's reaction was a raised eyebrow. "Not having any regrets are you?"

Amelia shook her head. In addition, having had some time to think, she could tell there was more to this than just what was on the surface. This "Pluton" that their opponents were after was said to be a very destructive warship, and villains were always after things like that as part of some nefarious plot to take over the world. Only this time, the villains were part of the world government, and Amelia didn't know what to make of that.

"Well whatever, that's not really my problem." Jabra continued. "Aigis is kind of like us, except they mostly do their work in the New World."

"The 'New World'? I don't think I've ever heard about that." Amelia replied. Milina said nothing, but she nodded, focusing her attention and leaning forward to listen.

"Weren't you all heading for Fishman Island before?" Jabra asked, lounging back into his seat. "Go past that and you enter the second half of the Grand Line, which people call the New World. If you think things are bad around here, well, even the World Government doesn't have control on that side."

"Then again, you can't really say Aigis is totally working for the government either." He added.

"Wait, they're not?" Amelia replied, puzzled. "But didn't Miss Viola say the World Government was behind all this?"

"Look, just listen." Jabra said, tossing his hair over his shoulder. "I'm saying they don't work for the government because their bosses are even higher than that. CP0 works for the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, the descendants of the kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago. I bet the only reason they even tried this whole farce with the chief was because the government needed to save face. The World Nobles themselves don't answer to justice."

* * *

...

* * *

By the time Jabra finished his explanation, Amelia was trembling with rage, while Milina had crossed her arms, furrowing her brows in concentration. Slavery. Murder. Shiki's words, which they had written off as just mockery at the time, now rang true with confirmation from the other side.

As a member of royalty, Amelia found especially appalling the idea that a ruler could set themselves above the law. It wasn't even for the greater good, or anything so noble as that; these 'World Nobles' didn't deserve the title.

"Well, if they've hurt so many people, doesn't anybody fight back?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, there are revolutionaries, but usually we were called in to handle those situations." Jabra replied, scratching his head sheepishly. Amelia nodded, and decided not to press the issue further.

"Well I won't stand for it." She declared. "I won't stand by and do nothing while people suffer under the rule of tyrants. Maybe not tomorrow or the day after that, but I will see the reign of the World Nobles overthrown, and that justice is dealt."

A small laugh escaped from Jabra's throat when Amelia finished, cutting off abruptly when he realized she hadn't spoken in jest. He looked around awkwardly, glancing at Milina, whose expression betrayed nothing.

"Well, who can say." He conceded. "The world's changing, and a lot of pirates are out there looking to make their marks. I won't say you can't do it, after seeing what you all did with us here."

Before Amelia could reply, she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the sand, announcing Kaku's arrival from the shore. Ducking under the covering and taking a seat for himself, he gestured toward the ships, where Kalifa was now supervising the two trainees by herself. Amelia giggled at the sight of the female agent responding to nearly every inquiry with an accusation of sexual harassment, leaving Luke and Zelgadis red-faced and flustered.

"Hey Kaku, you still carrying the Pose for Enies Lobby?" Jabra spoke up. "We're never going back there again, so how 'bout we give it to these guys?"

"Look, you want a cure for your friend right?" He added in response to a round of quizzical stares. "The only person in the world I can think of who might be able to pull off something like that, is currently locked up in Impel Down. You just follow the Pose to Enies Lobby, then take the current to the prison."

"Emporio Ivankov? The revolutionary army commander?" Kaku tilted his head to one side. "They do say his ability can change people's bodies, and he really ran the last generation of CP9 ragged trying to keep up with the disguises."

He crossed his arms and tapped his sleeve with a finger. "But don't you think it's a little too dangerous to send them to the Great Underwater Prison? No one has ever escaped Impel Down since Shiki."

Amelia perked up at the mention of Shiki's name.

"We'll take it." She said, smiling brightly, ignoring the puzzled looks given by the CP9 agents.

* * *

...

* * *

The setting sun was starting to cast an orange haze over the horizon when Zelgadis spotted Lina's party approaching from the northeast. Amelia came out to greet them, waving as she spotted Lina, Gourry and Vivi riding in on a trio of human-sized ducks, swathed in loose robes to protect against the heat. Lucci kept pace with them from the air, and Xellos drifted beside him, carrying something with his free arm, partially concealed by his mantle. The three riders skidded to a halt in front of the makeshift encampment and Lina removed her hood, revealing a few strands of white scattered among her coppery locks. Vivi bit her lip, and waited for Lina to speak.

"Well, there was nothing on there that we really care about." Lina shrugged, spreading her palms in an empty-handed gesture. Behind her, Vivi let out her breath, a smile of relief spreading across her face. Dismounting, she stroked her bird's neck for a moment, receiving a joyful squawk in return.

Lina sighed and scuffed a patch of sand with her boot, her eyes scanning over the ship they had prepared.

"But at least we got something out of this." She said, strolling into the tent and plopping down on a seat. "So? Where to next? Guess we should get going the way we came, and head back toward Fishman Island right?"

"I have somewhere." Amelia spoke up, producing the hourglass-like Eternal Pose, with the words "Enies Lobby" written on top. She relayed what Jabra had said regarding the possibility of a cure for Zelgadis, though she kept the parts about the World Nobles to herself. Standing off to one side, Zelgadis fidgeted, and a sudden silence fell over the group as Lina digested the information.

"Alright, sounds like the best lead we've got to something useful. And if this works out, it might even make all this trouble worthwhile." Lina said. Zelgadis made a noise of satisfaction, and Amelia smiled in sympathetic contentment.

"Yoyoi, are you absolutely, positively, completely certain?" Kumadori ventured. "In the entire history of Impel Down, only the Golden Lion Shiki has ever, ever, ever managed to escape."

Lina raised an eyebrow, and shot Amelia a glance, and some thought passed wordlessly between them. Standing off to one side, Jabra's face contorted with irritation at being left out of their non-verbal conversation.

"Shiki, huh?" Lina snorted. "That guy doesn't sound that tough. If somebody like that can do it, I think we should have no problem."

Amelia was the first to break out into a fit of giggles, which spread through their group until even Zelgadis was chuckling quietly to himself, while Milina raised a hand to cover her smirk. Only Gourry seemed to be out of the loop, glancing around like a lost puppy. A low growl seeped from Jabra's throat.

"What the hell is so funny?!" He demanded.

"If I may." Xellos cut in, interrupting the bout of laughter. He stepped forward, placing himself at the center of the group, bringing up his hand to reveal the object he had brought. It was a fruit, with leathery skin and a round shape like a large grapefruit, and an orange-ish coloration that seemed to glow dimly in the evening light. Odd spiral patterns and contours covered its surface, and a long curved stem extended up from its apex.

"A Devil Fruit." Jabra spoke in a hushed tone, his eyes wide. Amelia looked around, noticing some slight nods of agreement from the other CP9 agents.

"That seems to be the case." Xellos said. "So everyone, what do you think we should do with it?"

* * *

...

* * *

Lina blinked. So that was what he'd been hiding from her, brushing off her curiosity whenever she'd tried to sneak a look. She glanced around, noting that no one else seemed to want to make the first move, so she motioned for Xellos to pass the fruit to her. He obliged, watching as she rolled it between her hands and tapped it with a knuckle.

"Well, I can feel some sort of weird energy around it." She said as she handed it back. "Any idea what it does?"

"You can determine a Devil Fruit's power from its appearance, and use that to establish its name." Blueno said, stepping closer to Xellos to have a look. "However, I cannot recall seeing this particular fruit in any of the encyclopedias."

The other CP9 agents nodded in agreement.

"Well just keep that thing away from me when you start eating." Jabra said. He'd been inching back steadily until he was the one standing furthest away. "I don't want any juice or anything like that getting near my mouth. Anybody that eats two fruits is dead."

"What happens if several people share it?" Lina asked, poking the fruit with a finger. "Do they all get the ability?"

"Only the first to swallow a piece will receive an ability, which will remain with them until death." Blueno replied.

Lina made a noise in the back of her throat. Uneaten, the Devil Fruit seemed to be relatively inert, and while she had some experience creating talismans and the like, magical item engineering wasn't really her specialty. It would be nigh-on impossible to find a starting point for her investigations if she couldn't see the effects of an activation.

On the other hand, the prospect of using it wasn't one that appealed to her either.

"I'm not eating it." Lina pulled a face, shuddering slightly at the image of herself transforming into some hideous were-beast. Unknown powers? Irreversible? No thank you.

"I'll pass as well." Zelgadis spoke, having arrived at a similar conclusion.

"I kinda like being able to swim." Gourry said.

"No thanks." Amelia shook her head.

Milina conveyed her sentiments by looking away while Xellos glanced at the fruit, his expression deflating slightly.

"Unfortunately, I don't think it works on me." He said. He scanned over the group again looking for any takers, only to be interrupted as Luke leapt to his feet, thumping his chest with a fist.

"It's times like this when you have to leave it to a real man!" He cried, snatching the fruit from Xellos' hands. He sat down, fumbling around until he produced a pocket knife, and immediately began to peel.

"You heard what they said about the drawbacks, so make sure you don't have any regrets." Milina said. She tilted her head, fixing Luke with an admonishing look but making no move to stop him.

"Nope, none whatsoever!" Luke exclaimed. "A man's word is his honor, and that's how I've always lived."

"I doubt that." Milina said, a small smile appearing on her face. "But I can't say I dislike that side of you."

"Can't say… you dislike it?" Luke gazed up at his partner, his eyes shining. "Does this mean my love will finally be returned?"

"This isn't the time to joke around." Milina's expression turned cold once more, utterly ignoring the heartbroken sniffles coming from Luke's direction. "Does anyone have any objections to this?"

None were raised by the time Luke finished peeling the fruit, and with a final glance at Milina for approval, he pulled out the first slice and stuffed it into his mouth. The two crews crowded in to watch as Luke bit down and immediately doubled over, covering his mouth with both hands, his face paling.

"Hey! What's going on here! Talk to us! You feel anything yet?" Lina demanded, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking. She considered casting a Dicleary, but that spell didn't always work on some of the stronger types of poison.

With a torturous groan, Luke swallowed his mouthful, falling onto onto his elbows and breathing hard. A trickle of saliva flowed from the corner of his mouth, and… was he crying?

"Tastes… so bad..."

There was a moment of silence between them, and then Lina started to chuckle.

"C'mon Luke, hurry up with it." She said, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her toes impatiently. "A real man's gotta live up to his word, or Milina here won't even give you the time of day."

Painfully, reluctantly, Luke took another bite, now looking a little green. Lina opened her mouth to rib him again when Lucci spoke up, breaking his silence.

"We should be leaving. We left a very obvious trail on our way here, and the Marines will be arriving soon." He turned toward his ship, walking past Lina as Luke finished the last of his fruit. The other CP9 members seemed torn at this, wanting to follow their leader but also wanting to keep watching as Luke collapsed onto the sand, gagging and shivering from sheer disgust.

The mere mention of departure sent a wave of hunger and fatigue crashing over Lina, and it was only with an heroic effort that she managed to keep her knees from buckling visibly. All the excitement had managed to keep it off her mind, but the fact remained that she hadn't eaten anything since the day before, and they'd been planning late into the night before waking up bright and early. Plus, casting the Ragna Blade had been a huge drain on her strength.

"You guys do what you want, but I think we'll be better off leaving tomorrow morning." Lina said.

"But hey." She stuck out a hand in Lucci's direction. "Think we'll see each other again on the ocean?"

"Perhaps." Lucci took the offered hand and shook, the corners of his mouth curling up into the slightest hint of a smirk. "It's been an interesting experience."

* * *

...

* * *

The CP9 members boarded their ship and hauled up the anchor, unfurling their sails and setting a southward course. They shrank into the distance, vanishing into the night.

"Figured out what your ability is yet?" Lina asked when she noticed Luke punching and kicking the air, hoping for some effect to manifest itself.

"Hey, don't rush me." He replied. "Because when it finally happens, it's going to blow you away."

Lina snorted and left him to his experimentation, her eyes drifting instead to the seaside city before them. The enticing scent of food wafting from its streets could be resisted no longer.

"Hey Vivi!" Lina called, causing the other girl to jump. "I still have some of this money left from before, so how 'bout we all go out for a night on the town?"

The evening market of Nanohana was, if anything, even more lively than the capital's. The daytime heat gave way to a clammy, ocean chill, and the streets were flooded with patrons, eager to spend some of the day's wages on the many delights being offered.

"Mmmm!" Lina exclaimed as she bit into a piece of skewered meat, feeling the juices flowing over her tongue, mixing with the spices and causing her mouth to tingle.

"I'll take twenty more please!"

As they worked their way through the marketplace, Lina made a point of haggling with the vendors, getting a feel for the value of this strange paper money. Vivi hid her amusement behind her hand when Lina started testing the waters with borderline insulting sums, eventually making off with large volumes of food for less than three-quarters the offered price.

"Oh, it's nothing." Vivi replied when inquired on why she found it so funny. "Just reminding me of someone I once traveled with."

Despite her attempts to hide her identity, Vivi was recognized, and soon dense crowds gathered to see the beloved princess, and praise her for saving the kingdom. Lina bit back her irritation at first, only for a smirk to form on her face when vendors began offering their goods to the princess for free, insisting despite her denials that they simply must repay her efforts.

"Well, I'll be glad to take this off your hands for her." Lina said as she collected the offerings, while her companions walked behind, laughing and shaking their heads at her shameless embezzling.

The crowds gradually dispersed as the night wore on, while the temperature dipped until breaths were coming out as puffs of white moisture. Lina patted her stomach, giving a sigh of contentment, then motioned for the group to return to the ship. With their destination in mind, they'd best push off early in the morning; there would be time to nap once the ship had gotten moving.

"You guys, I'll be returning to the palace now." Vivi spoke up once the ship was in sight, the three spot-billed ducks trotting alongside her.

"But before we part… When we met at the hot springs, we were strangers, and I must admit I acted a bit rashly. But you came all this way, and took it upon yourselves to drive out the men who wanted to exploit my country. So, as the princess of this land, I just wanted to say..."

"Thank you so much for everything." She said, bowing deeply.

To Vivi's surprise, Lina walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder and nudging her back up.

"Hey now, there's no need for that kind of stuff. And a princess shouldn't have to bow her head." Lina said. "You did what you thought was best at the time, and that's all anyone can ever ask for."

Smiling, Vivi straightened up and nodded.

"Good luck on your journey."

"Get home safe, okay?"

* * *

...

* * *

The party was up the next morning when the first streaks of orange were starting to peek over the horizon, though not without some arduous work getting Gourry out of bed. The bumbling incompetence from before was replaced with well-honed skill as they checked supplies and prepared the ship for departure. Zelgadis had taken well to the role of the navigator, and he certainly looked the part, with a Log Pose they'd picked up in town attached to his left hand, and the Eternal Pose given to them by CP9 held in his right. They'd been warned to never let their eyes drift from the needles for long, lest they be pulled off course by the Grand Line's unpredictable currents, said to loop around the world like the coils of some colossal dragon.

The sails were hoisted and the ship began to slide toward the ocean, carried by the river's current. Luke took the time to experiment some more, thrusting out his palms, jumping up and down, even spinning around in circles trying to figure out what ability he had acquired.

"Still nothing?" Lina leaned over him after he had spun himself into a daze.

The roar of distant cannon-fire jolted her from her fun, the blast spawning a vast column of water that drenched a nearby beach. Lina immediately fell into a ready position, and her eyes fell upon a squadron of warships approaching from the east. Each was a four-masted behemoth, several times larger than her own vessel by Lina's estimation, with triple-barreled cannons attached to swiveling turrets on their bows.

Things were just never that easy.

* * *

...

* * *

Kuzan stood at the bow of the front-most ship and called for another warning shot to be fired. The cannon boomed, landing a shot on an empty shore, producing a fiery explosion that he hoped would deter the interlopers. The commotion had already attracted a lot of attention, and he didn't want to put any citizens in danger if he could help it.

Kuzan gestured and a subordinate arrived, passing a pair of binoculars to his waiting hands. He scanned the stolen ship, noting the presence of a red-haired young woman who was shouting orders to a half-dozen or so crewmates. It didn't look like she intended to surrender.

"My oh my, amazing how some things intertwine." He murmured to himself.

Just a few hours ago, he had received a report from one of the ships stationed at Alabasta, requisitioned by the World Government for one of their black projects. They had described being defeated by a combined force of rogue CP9 agents and several others, losing two ships in the process but being permitted to escape on the third, at the insistence of one of the unidentified pirates.

Also described were some of the odd abilities that the unknown assailants possessed; multiple elements, beyond the scope of any known Devil Fruit. And now there was this young woman before him who matched the description of the Golden Lion Pirates' mysterious new recruit.

Kuzan signaled for the ships to stop and vaulted over the railing, forming a film of ice to stand on as his feet touched water. At the very least, he would take this group in for questioning. And if they could confirm some of his suspicions, particularly regarding the Golden Lions, he might not even mind repaying a favor with a favor.

Kuzan bent down, dipping his fingertips into the water.

"Ice Age."

With a sound like cracking glass, the sea before him froze, cresting waves solidifying in mid-motion to form a field of icy ridges. In an instant, the cold reached its target, sending veins of ice spider-webbing across the hull of the stolen warship. Kuzan waved to his subordinates, who deployed ladders from the sides of their ships, preparing to cross the frozen sea and board the enemy vessel.

Kuzan's eyes were drawn to a light flickering from the stolen vessel's bow, growing steadily brighter until its radiance rivaled that of the rising sun. It flared outward, condensing into thousands upon thousands of incandescent points. At some unseen signal they flew out, striking the sea surface and exploding into fiery conflagrations that swept away the ice, spawning a wall of impenetrable fog that rolled over the fleet.

The fog lifted after a few minutes, whereupon Kuzan noted that the stolen warship was now just a dark speck on the horizon, having traveled further than was probably possible even with very favorable winds. Peering through his binoculars, he noticed an artificial blast of air striking the vessel's sails, sending it practically skipping across the water like a hurled stone.

"Your orders, Admiral!" One of the ship captains called down.

"Set a course for Headquarters." Kuzan pronounced. At the captain's questioning look, he added, "This isn't a good time for the Marines to be taking on such risky engagements."

* * *

...

* * *

Marshall D. Teach took a bite out of his pie as he listened to Sengoku blathering on from across the table, listing out all the duties and responsibilities of the Seven Warlords. Raising his mug to his lips, he drained the container dry to wash down his meal.

"What's a guy gotta do to get something to drink around here?!" He demanded, slamming the empty mug against the table for emphasis and glaring at the Marines standing behind him. He grinned when one of the men quickly departed, returning with a pitcher to refill his cup.

"Teach! Are you even listening?!" Sengoku roared.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it." Teach waved off the Fleet Admiral's protestations. He smiled inwardly.

His plan was going better than he'd ever imagined. With the capture of Portgas D. Ace, war with Whitebeard was imminent, and so he too needed to make his move soon. The position of Warlord was just a footstool, another step on the way to capturing the New Age.

And for that, he would need to go to Impel Down.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And that's the end of the Cipher Pol Arc, Impel Down begins next chapter. Thanks to everyone who read or reviewed.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Great Gaol

**Chapter 16: The Great Gaol**

**Impel Down Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Being out at sea for such an extended period of time was a fairly novel experience for Lina. She'd taken boats down rivers before, and even a few trips to islands near the coast, but those had been overnight ventures at the longest. There was also their ill-conceived journey that had landed them in the Outer World, but so much of that had been spent in a hunger-induced daze that Lina didn't actually remember much of it at all.

Lina looked at the seven tick marks she had etched onto the main mast and sighed. For one, after a certain amount of time, the days had started to blend together. She'd initially tried to record the passage of time, but she had missed one after the first week and lost track from there. By her best guess, they'd been out for at least another week after that.

Lina leaned back against the cabin, then sat up when she felt a tug on her makeshift fishing rod, enchanted with a spell of her own creation. She flicked the end up, giving a small cheer when a silver-scaled trout landed on the deck. Perfect for an afternoon snack.

Glancing around to make sure Gourry wasn't going to steal it, Lina flash-roasted the fish with a conjured flame, then wolfed it down within a few bites. Picking off the last morsels of meat to use as bait for next time, she tossed the bones back overboard. Out on the ocean, they could never be sure whether they'd be able to spot land and stock up on supplies at the end of the day. She reckoned the last time they'd stopped was about three or four days ago, and she'd been pleasantly surprised then when the merchants had sold to her without complaint, even when that damnable bounty poster was in plain sight.

Lina had nothing else to do at the moment, so she scooted up to watch as Luke stepped out onto the deck, trying again to discern the identity of his Devil Fruit. She gave a snort of laughter when she saw him hocking up a wad of saliva which he spat into the sea, probably hoping for something else to come along with it. Some things never changed, such as the long periods of inactivity punctuated by short bursts of excitement when they were caught within storms or attacked by sea monsters. She needed to take her entertainment when she could get it.

"When you get that desperate, it's probably time to give up, don't you think?" Lina called out. "I wouldn't want Milina to see me doing that if I were you."

"Mind your own business!" Luke snapped back. "Those secret agent guys told us it would take a while didn't they? I still have some things that I wanna try."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't tell me. I don't really wanna know what those are."

She could tell that the confidence was all but gone from his voice. The poor guy had been trying everything, on-and-off for the entirety of their trip. And she was pretty sure that "a little while" didn't refer to two weeks.

"I could offer a way." Xellos said from behind, causing Lina to jump slightly in her seat. He walked past her, stopping once he stood next to Luke, who returned Lina's puzzled expression with one of his own.

"There is a method that will confirm for sure whether Luke has received the power of a Devil Fruit." Xellos said, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Although it would be best to stop the ship before we try it."

Xellos steered Luke toward the railing while the rest of the crew did as bade, folding up the sails and waiting for the ship to cruise to a halt. Then with everyone watching expectantly, Xellos swept out his staff, knocking one of Luke's legs out from under him and sending him tumbling into the water.

"What the- what the hell is wrong with you?!" Luke said as soon as his head had bobbed back up.

Lina's eyes widened fractionally when she realized the implications, and she glanced around at her crewmates to make sure they were seeing the same thing.

"Hey, aren't Devil Fruit users supposed to sink in water?" She asked the others, watching their expressions shift as the realization hit them. They had all been there when the mammoth guy nearly drowned in just a swimming pool, and some of them had had their own encounters with other fruit users and water. There had been no exceptions.

"Well, whatever about that, just help me up." Luke said, but Lina could tell from his petulant expression that he wasn't happy with the result. He levitated out of the water, and Lina leaned down, grabbing one of his hands while Gourry took the other. Together, the two of them hoisted him over the railing and back onto the deck.

Lina shook the water from her gloves before fixing Xellos with an incredulous look. "There are easier ways to do this you know."

"Perhaps, but a direct demonstration makes things much easier to understand." Xellos replied, smiling.

"Whatever." Lina said. "So I guess that proves that Luke didn't get an ability from the thing after all. But when I was holding that fruit, I definitely felt some sort of power coming from it."

"CP9 also said that one person would get a ability even if the fruit was eaten by several people." Zelgadis added.

"Yeah, and Luke ate that whole thing." Lina said. "So what gives?"

"Maybe it was just a fake. A really realistic fake." Luke grumbled, wringing some of the water out of his sodden clothing. "That thing tasted like a ogre's armpit. What kinda fruit tastes like that anyway?"

The image of Luke collapsing onto his side brought a peal of laughter to Lina's lips. Well, whatever. No use worrying about something that was already decided.

"You should be thankful that it turned out like this." Zelgadis said as he pulled open the door to the cabin. "One bad decision could leave you with a lifetime of regrets."

* * *

...

* * *

Early the next morning, Zelgadis sat in the bridge, paging idly through a book he'd found in one of the rooms. Danger could come day or night, so they had to sleep in shifts. Zelgadis didn't need as much sleep to function as the others, so he'd volunteered to take the morning watch. He took a glance at the Eternal Pose, then adjusted the steering wheel slightly to keep them going in the right direction. Ahead, the full moon cast its light on the water below, creating blue and green ripples that danced along the surface.

Zelgadis's eyes narrowed. That was no moon. He could see the moon on their starboard side, and it was a crescent like it'd been the day before. He snatched up his binoculars and pointed them straight ahead, taking a moment to wrap his mind around what he was seeing.

There was a hole in the sky, as if the night were simply a layer of clouds, with a gap allowing daylight to shine through. The dissonance grew even more conspicuous when the sun began to rise, painting the horizon with a soft, orange light. The patch of sky ahead already looked as bright as midday, as if it were frozen in time. Squinting through the lens, Zelgadis could make out an island beneath the abnormality. He glanced at the Eternal Pose, confirming that the needle was pointing directly at the strange island. So that was Enies Lobby.

The sun climbed higher and the morning mist dissolved away, revealing a pair of colossal metal gates built into the air, towering over the back of the facility. The fading fog revealed as well that the main body of land was suspended over a gaping chasm, into which the waters of the ocean flowed like a waterfall.

Zelgadis felt a slight buzz of elation running through his body. At this stage it was still a longshot, but this was probably the closest he'd ever been to finding a cure.

A small part of his mind reminded him that at the time, he'd been willing to live with the change. It had given him power, just like he wanted, and he'd been prepared to make use of it until he discovered Rezo's true intentions. To that man, Zelgadis was just another experiment, to be used and discarded once he was no longer convenient. Rezo was dead, but his legacy was an bitter insult to Zelgadis' very being.

Zelgadis turned his head at the sound of footsteps to see Lina approaching from the cabin door. She pulled up a seat, taking a moment to thumb through her coppery hair for the last bits of white left from her battle in the capitol. Finding none, she made a noise of satisfaction.

"Hey Zel, what's- whoa, do you see that?" She paused to stare at the anomaly in the sky ahead. "I remember them saying something about a daytime island, but looking at that just makes my head hurt."

Zelgadis nodded. "Can't say I was expecting something like that either."

"So Zel, you excited? About finding a cure for your body, I mean." Lina asked.

Zelgadis responded with a noncommittal grunt.

"We'll see." He replied. "I'm not ready to declare this adventure a success just because we reached the first stop."

"But let's say it works out." Lina said. "You got any plans for what you'll do afterwards?"

"We still have to find a way home." Zelgadis said.

"I mean after that."

Zelgadis thought back, trying to remember a time when he wasn't either working for Rezo or searching for a cure. For years, he had poured his resolve and determination into the pursuit, with the consequence being that any thoughts about what came after had been shelved. He didn't answer.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina stepped out onto the deck and stretched her arms. For as long as she could remember, she had always been in the habit of rising with the sun, wringing the most out of each and every day. Zelgadis was starting to get a little reluctant to talk, so she left him to his thoughts, seating herself on a railing and tossing out her lure. The others gradually filtered out, and by the time Gourry and Luke stumbled out of bed, Lina had already caught and eaten her breakfast.

"Well it's about time you bums got up." Lina said. She motioned in the direction of the ship's bow, where Enies Lobby loomed large over the horizon.

"Look sharp! Time for us to get busy."

The crew gathered on the deck as their vessel cruised past the island, steering well clear of the central waterfall ring. Up close, they could see clusters of buildings on the main landmass, most of which looked to have been demolished by some brutal bombardment. A small fleet of government ships were anchored around the island, several of which called out requests for identification.

Lina ignored them, focusing her attention on their objective, though she couldn't help but feel a spike of irritation when she heard someone yell out her epithet. The Gate of Justice looked even larger up close, a mountain of metal rising from the sea. The waters before it churned violently, forming a field of whirlpools that would've capsized them for sure had they entered.

"It looks like those are being formed because of the currents running against the gate." Zelgadis traced a finger from the waterfall ring to the base of the gate. "I think if we opened the gate and allowed the water to flow, that should be safe to navigate."

"How are we going to do that?" Amelia asked. "I don't think they're going to open it for us."

She pointed back at the island, where the navy warships, having received no response, had pulled up anchors and were maneuvering in pursuit.

"Well the controls for the gate should be somewhere on the island." Zelgadis said. "We'll need to anchor somewhere and defend the ship while some of us go look for them."

"Pfft, controls? Who needs 'em? We have everything we need to open that gate right here." Lina said. She raised her talismans to their activation positions, smirking when Amelia and Zelgadis flinched visibly at the sight.

The government warships turned, unleashing a thudding bombardment from their broadside ports, creating fiery explosions where their cannonballs struck the boundary of Amelia's barrier. Lina steadied herself on the deck, chanting the words to the Dragon Slave while the spell's characteristic red aura blazed around her. She briefly wondered whether CP9 had sent them this way on purpose, as an act of spite against the World Government after what it had done to them. It was actually fairly impressive that people with no learnable magic could build something like this. Shame they'd have to destroy it.

_"Dragon Slave!"_ Lina cried, thrusting her hands out. Her power erupted forth on command, slamming into the center of the gate like a crimson sledgehammer. The Gate of Justice buckled as it was enveloped by the flames, its form evaporating in the searing radiance. Blast winds buffeted the sea surface, spawning a tidal wave that washed out from the explosion.

"Now everyone! Brace for impact!" Lina called.

The Marines were less prepared as their ships were tossed by the swell, while Lina directed her crew to unfurl their sails once the wave had passed. A gust of wind sent them hurtling forward through the vapor.

Lina had to grab onto the railing when the ship suddenly lurched toward the side, as it was caught and carried along by the current flowing just beyond the gate. The water was moving quite rapidly, creating a pall of salty sea mist around them.

"Alright guys, keep your eyes peeled." Lina said. "We're looking for another one of those things so we can get out."

* * *

...

* * *

The assembled Marines watched in stunned silence as the stolen warship vanished into the current, while the remnants of the blast expanded upward, blooming into a great fungal cloud that rose into the sky. The echoes of the shockwave persisted as a dull rumble in the air, vibrating the very pits of their stomachs. Several men fell onto their knees, shuddering at the thought of how close they had come to obliteration.

The commander of the garrison flipped through his bounty posters, stopping at the one labeled with the epithet, "Pink Sorceress". The value posted for her capture was sixty-five million Belis. He would need to make an urgent report to headquarters, if it was still intact at the day's end.

* * *

...

* * *

It wasn't long before the next gate came into view, and Lina fired off another Dragon Slave to obliterate the structure. Freed from its confines, the water began to rush out from where the gate once was, carrying their vessel with it. As they passed through the blast zone, Lina noticed another ship traveling on the current, but it faded into the distance before she could get a better look.

Lina had to frown when they finally emerged from the fog. Dark shapes swam beneath the surface, serpentine leviathans large enough to swallow their ship whole. Ahead, a section of the prison jutted out from the water, like a walled castle floating on top of the sea. It was a lot bigger than she'd been expecting, dwarfing the battleships that were arranged protectively around it, several of which were already turning toward them. Peering through the binoculars, she could see their crews scurrying about on their decks, scrambling to bring their cannons to bear.

Calling the others to her, Lina had them invoke a Dark Mist together, blanketing the area in thick black fog while their ship sailed straight ahead toward the prison entrance.

What followed were a harrowing few minutes as cannons boomed around them, churning the surrounding waters, splashing their deck and rocking the boat. Gourry jumped and clung to Lina's leg when one landed so close that they could smell the smoke from the igniting powder, and a monstrous head emerged from the water, attracted by the commotion. He closed his eyes tight, clearly trying to ignore the fact that their tiny ship was all that was between himself and a gruesome demise in the jaws of some aquatic predator.

"Get a spine you jellyfish, we're here." Lina said once the bombardment was behind them and the towering form of the great prison came into view. Gourry opened his eyes, noticed an absence of flying ordnance, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

The six of them disembarked, tying their ship to the pier. CP9 had told them that the prison was structured like a giant layered cake, with more notorious inmates being held on levels further down. Although they hadn't been given the exact details, a high ranking commander of a revolutionary group was probably going to be near the bottom. They would need to be quick, get in and out while the fog still lingered and kept the fleet from realizing what was happening.

It was clear upon entering the prison that much was amiss. The frame of the main gate was broken, and the floor just past it had been shattered, leaving a hole in the stonework that seemed to lead down to the lower levels. The entire level seemed to be vacant, and looked to be more of an administrative area than the dungeon proper, so Lina lead her party down through the opening to the first underwater level.

As she landed on the stone floor and set Gourry down, the first thing Lina noticed were the rows of empty cages, with sets of manacles unlocked and discarded. There were signs of battle all around; broken stonework, burn marks from cannon blasts, and puddles of foul-smelling sludge scattered around the halls - poison, by all appearances. Some contained the unmoving bodies of prisoners, their faces contorted into expressions of agony, while others had been rendered down to mere skeletons. As the crew stepped gingerly past, Lina suppressed the urge to shudder, and noted the barely restrained fury etched across Luke's features.

"C'mon you guys." Lina said, doing her best to avert her eyes. "Somebody got here before us, but we still need to find someone who we can ask about our prisoner."

They proceeded onward, walking through the winding halls for what Lina estimated to be a couple of minutes before emerging into a large chamber. A gaping chasm cutting across the floor was spanned by a wooden drawbridge, with more rows of dungeons occupying the other side.

Lina gagged when she was struck by the sudden, overwhelming stench of blood. She'd seen enough violence on her journeys that she certainly wasn't squeamish, but the odor was so overpowering that she could taste it on her tongue. The stench was rancid but sharp, as if fresh layers of gore had been applied over the rotten remains of past bloodlettings. She could see the others were experiencing similar reactions.

Though they were indoors, Lina could see a forest beneath the bridge, with red pine trees growing over fields of red grass. Bile rose in her throat when she realized why they were red.

The forest below was a forest of blades, with leaves like knives and grass like needles, painted with blood and covered in scraps of torn clothing and ribbons of peeled skin. Her imagination filled in the blanks, and she noticed Amelia covering her face with her hands.

Lina had often espoused that the wicked had no rights, but she usually just tried inflict enough injuries to encourage a swift change of careers for the bandits she attacked. It sickened her that there were people who would put someone through that.

"Intruders!"

Lina's head snapped up to see a trio of guards rounding a corner on the other side, dressed in identical beige and green uniforms and clutching rifles in their hands. Lina raised her hands with a spell on her lips, but was interrupted when Luke made the first move.

"You fucking bastards!" Luke roared, unleashing a blast of wind that disarmed the prison guards. One turned to run, then fell with a thrown knife embedded in his back, and the other two collapsed cowering as Luke advanced on them.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't even try it if you don't want to end up like him." Luke hoisted the nearest one up by his collar. "You're going to tell me everything you know. And if you refuse, I will kill you and ask your friend here."

"Who do you work for?! Who orders you to do this?!" He roared, his eyes smoldering with anger. Lina had no doubts that he would carry out his threats, and a part of her wanted him to stop, but after seeing the cruelty on display, the words just died in her throat.

"I-I'll tell! I'll tell you everything we know!" The guard stammered. "We work for Chief Warden Magellan, and the World Government to keep prisoners here. I-I just follow orders! It's not my fault it's like this!"

Luke gnashed his teeth at the man's unapologetic confession. "So your prisoners volunteered to run through that forest by themselves? And if somebody orders you to do it then it's not your fault? Then I guess if I was ordered to kill you, it's not my fault either right?"

Lina winced slightly as Luke swiftly drew another dagger and plunged it through the jailer's ribs. The man made a wet gurgling noise, a trickle of red flowing from his lips, and he collapsed weakly to the ground when Luke released his grip on his collar.

"That was going too far, Luke." Milina approached him.

"What are you talking about Milina? You see what these guys are doing!" Luke responded. Lina's eyes widened in surprise at his aggressive tone, quite unlike the way he usually spoke to his partner.

"I can't just let these sons-of-bitches-!"

Luke's voice cut off abruptly as Milina placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He shook his head, his face openly displaying his shifting emotions.

"When I see something like this, it just makes me sick of humans." He said, his voice barely audible above a whisper.

"Don't say that Luke. You're a human. So am I."

Luke looked down slightly shamefaced, and nodded.

"So… so what do we do about him?" He glanced at the remaining guard.

Lina heaved a sigh of relief, and took a step toward the guard. "We're here for someone named Emporio Ivankov. If you tell me where he is, then I'll let you go."

The guard's eyes darted to Luke, then back to Lina, and a gulp of nervous saliva inched its way down his throat.

"H-he escaped. The person you're looking for escaped." He sputtered. "T-there was a breakout just before you all got here, and they stole a boat and escaped."

"So where's your warden then?" Luke interrupted. His voice was quiet, but still full of fury, his anger subdued but not totally extinguished.

"He's in the gate control room, around that way." The guard replied, pointing past the corner where he'd come from. "There was an incident in the control room, so the warden went to investigate, and he…"

The man's voice trailed off as his eyelids fluttered, and he slumped over, sound asleep. Lina lowered her hands and Luke raised an inquiring eyebrow at her.

"How about we leave him here like this then?" Lina said. Angry as Luke still was, she didn't think he would try to kill someone in their sleep.

"I mean, it looks like we're all decided on who the bad guy is that we need to defeat." She glanced around at a panel of approving faces. "Plus, maybe there'll be some chance that he'll know where our prisoner's gone off to with the breakout and all."

After Luke had pulled out his dagger that was stuck in the guard's back, the crew started off in the indicated direction, turning around the corner and entering a long hallway with a set of wooden doors on the other end. They hadn't taken more than a few steps down the corridor when the double doors exploded into splinters, and a heavily bandaged figure tumbled out. The man struggled to his feet, but a second figure marched through the entrance, seizing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

"More intruders in my prison?!" The other man roared when he noticed Lina's party. He was at least three times as tall as she was, dressed in a dark coat with black bat wings attached to his back. Lina wasn't one to judge a book by its cover, the man's look practically oozed evil.

"Your prison? Oh, lemme guess, you must be this 'Warden Magellan' we've been hearing about right?" Lina asked. She took a step to her left and slightly forward, readying herself for a fight. "Now before I get started on you, we're here for someone named Emporio Ivankov. If you tell me where he's gone off to, maybe I'll let you off a little easier."

"Ivan's escaped." It was the prisoner who choked out. "He escaped with Straw Hat to rescue his brother."

That was all Lina needed to hear. She launched a wave of Flare Arrows, and Magellan dropped his victim, raising both arms to protect his face from the fiery detonations. Gourry dashed forward while the warden was distracted, his blonde hair visible as a yellow blur while a rush of air followed in his wake. He grabbed the bandaged prisoner by the leg and vaulted back, depositing him behind their group. Amelia kneeled down, running a glowing palm over the man's body, moving her hand back and forth as part of a diagnostic spell.

"He's poisoned!" She cried. As if in response, the man shuddered and gave a cry of pain.

"Warden and torturer huh? That's quite a record you've got there." Lina said. She kept her eyes fixed on the opponent, but she could hear the sounds of weapons being drawn behind her, along with a bout of bitter laughter coming from Luke.

"Amelia! Give him a Resurrection. It's probably the only one that's gonna work." She said. "And as for the warden, just leave him to us."

"Stalling for time?" Magellan growled. "Not one of you will make it out of this prison. Not one."

* * *

...

* * *

Marshall D. Teach followed closely behind as Shiliew lead his party through the dungeons. They were dank and dingy, illuminated by just a handful of flickering lights. Eager faces peered out at him from the rows of cells, and Teach stared back, like a cattleman assessing the quality of a line-up at auction. He couldn't imagine a more ignominious fate, to be erased from history, never to see the ocean again.

Shiliew stopped before one cell, and Teach squeezed in behind him. He blinked, and nearly opened his mouth to admonish the former jailer for taking him to the wrong place before he recognized the bandaged, balding man lying on the stone floor within. With his trademark yellow coat replaced by a striped prisoner's uniform and his wild blonde hair almost completely burnt off, only his bladed prosthetics marked the man out as the once formidable Golden Lion. Now he looked every bit like a washed up old man, his glory days long gone.

"Oi Shiki! What a surprise to find you here!" Teach greeted the Flying Pirate. "I've barely even seen you in the papers since you busted out the last time! How've you been all these years, eh? Do ya recognize me?"

Shiki sat up at the mention of his name, his chains clanking against the floor. His eyes scanned over his visitors before meeting Teach's gaze.

"You're one of Whitebeard's? Teach, wasn't it?" He asked, looking over Teach's crew as they filed in behind their captain. "And I see you've been busy! So you got off that old man's boat, and are starting to make a name as a captain aren't ya?"

"Zehahaha, that's right." Teach nodded and grinned, feeling a wave of pride welling up within him at the compliment. "And once I'm done here in a few hours, I'm going to give this world a show like it's never seen before!"

"So you've come here to break me out?" Shiki smiled, sitting up a little straighter. "You've got some sort of plan don't you? You know you and I, we could conquer this world in no time!"

"Ah, that's not it Shiki." Teach shook his head, his voice growing low and conspiratorial. His expression changed subtly, shifting from a warm and friendly smile to a huge grin dripping with malevolent pity.

"The seas are changing you know, and a new age is coming, and I plan to ride at the head of it! But you've gotten old, Shiki. Hell, you couldn't even keep the Marines from capturing you again. There's just no place in the new age for you."


	17. Chapter 17 - Wheels in Motion

**Chapter 17: Wheels in Motion**

**Impel Down Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina was apparently done with the conversation, and with a gesture, the warden's entire form and the section of hallway around him ignited. Seeing a reprieve, Amelia pressed her glowing hands against the unconscious prisoner's chest, while Zelgadis' fingers moved to his revolvers. He'd seen enough to know that that wasn't the end.

His suspicions were confirmed when a humanoid figure emerged from the flames, hissing and smoking from the heat.

Zelgadis's eyes widened at the sight. The warden's body was covered in a layer of poison, so thick that the man himself was only visible as a silhouette within the liquid mass. More of the substance poured from his body, pooling on the ground and rising into the air, shaping itself into a trio of serpentine dragon heads.

One head shot forward, jaws gaping as if it meant to swallow their party whole. Pulling his hands from his guns, Zelgadis summoned a barrier of wind around their group, and the toxic mass broke against it, splattering its substance across the walls and floors. It retracted, a new dragon head already taking shape on the severed end.

Luke shifted to the left, unleashing a barrage of shrieking wind blades, while Milina attacked with a bright blue ray of astral power. Two heads bent down to block the attacks, the "wounds" inflicted already healing before the spells had even finished striking them. The third plunged into the floor, aiming to circumvent Zelgadis's barrier with a subterranean approach, cracking and buckling the stone as it passed. Amelia looked up, her eyes widening when she noticed that it was heading straight for her.

"Look out!" Zelgadis cried. He dove for Amelia, managing to throw her and her patient out of the path of harm. Zelgadis rolled to his feet, but there was no time left to dodge when the floor broke apart and the dragon-head emerged, slamming its jaws shut around him. Almost instantly he could feel the burn of of the toxin within him, ripping at him from the inside, trying to seize up his nerves and tear away control. He fought his way free of the toxic morass and collapsed onto his knees, his vision swimming in and out of focus. The sound of his companions calling out his name seemed distant and faint, barely audible over the sound of his own pulse drumming in his ears.

"It's the end for you." Magellan said, retracting his beast back to its normal length. "Your body can no longer move, and your life will be over within twenty-four hours."

Zelgadis gritted his teeth and pressed a glowing palm to his stomach, forcing a Recovery spell through despite the pain clouding his mind. The spell's effect was like a wave of cool relief, quenching the hellfire and reducing it to just a smoldering burn. He stood back up to glare at the warden, whose eyes widened fractionally with surprise.

"Sorry, but my body is part rock golem." Zelgadis said. "I think you'll find that your poison doesn't work quite as well on me."

His free hand shot out, sending a bolt of hissing lightning leaping down the hall. A dragon head moved to intercept it, but the electricity simply conducted through its neck, and Magellan groaned as the current coursed through his body. With its master distracted, the venomous construct seemed to lose direction, and Luke repeated his attack, leaving a canvas of bloody cuts on the front of Magellan's chest. Another ray from Milina pierced the warden's body, and he doubled over, coughing up a spray of red blood.

"Good work guys." Lina said as she hovered over the group, arcs of electricity pouring from her fingertips to form a glowing pentagram around Magellan. With a crack of thunder, the entire area within the formation was lit up by lightning, and the three dragon heads collapsed into puddles of liquid.

"Mr. Zelgadis, I think he's stable for now, so I can take care of that for you." Amelia approached, careful not to touch her glowing hands to Zelgadis' poison-soaked clothing. Zelgadis nodded, and allowed his own healing spell to flicker out.

"Oh, and, um, thanks for saving me from that thing." She added.

Oh. "...You're welcome."

* * *

...

* * *

Lina dropped to the floor as the last sparks fizzled out, and the smoke blew away to reveal Magellan kneeling and breathing heavily. Though he was still covered in a layer of poison, the electricity had done its work. Angry burns ran up and down his body where the current had passed, and the warden stumbled a bit as he stood and gathered himself.

"I won't allow anyone to escape Impel Down!" Magellan roared. A fresh wave of poison oozed from his body, deep crimson in color, hissing and smoking as it corroded the stone floor.

Lina was strongly considering using one of her more destructive spells to deal with the situation when a black haze rose up from the floor, engulfing the control room behind Magellan. It retracted, leaving an empty void where the section of building once was.

Magellan turned as a chunk of rubble rose through the gap, bearing a group of men - and one woman - on its surface. Several of them were dressed in striped prisoner's uniforms, stained with patches of red.

"Zehahaha, what a surprise to see you again, Magellan." The apparent leader of the group said. With crooked teeth, a black and gold coat and a wide tricorne hat, he looked every bit like a living, breathing stereotype of a pirate captain.

"Stop us right here Burgess, I need to take care of some unfinished business." He ordered. Behind him, the broad-chested man wearing a facemask nodded, and the piece of rubble came to a halt.

A thought occurred to Lina as she stood, watching the proceedings. Wasn't levitation Shiki's power? And from the way CP9 had spoken, it seemed like Devil Fruits were unique.

Lina didn't get any time to process the idea further when Magellan spoke up.

"Teach! And Shiliew!" He roared, his fury directed at one of the men in particular, dressed in a dark jailer's uniform. "Why do I see you helping him? Are you the one who destroyed our communications? Are you a traitor as well?!"

Shiliew shrugged, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. "Hmm, why don't you take a few steps in my shoes Chief. When a man is on death row, he doesn't have many options, you know."

Magellan said nothing, but the flow of poison increased, spreading across the floor and forming a towering demonic torso. And yet, the new arrivals seemed entirely unafraid, leaping down from their perch as their leader strode forward.

Lina motioned for her party to back up a bit. If these new guys wanted to fight, that was just fine with her, but it wouldn't do to get caught up in somebody else's battle.

Magellan swung his hand, and the venom demon mirrored his movements, sweeping a massive, toxin-dripping limb toward the new arrivals. Burgess responded by pointing with a finger, sending the levitating boulder rocketing forward, colliding with the toxic mass. The poison seemed to spread through the stone, reducing it to formless sludge within moments, but it had bought them enough time.

The leader - Teach apparently - slammed a hand against the ground, sending a wave of dark smoke spreading out across the floor. It flowed over Magellan's feet, and the warden stumbled as the black morass swallowed his legs. The venom demon collapsed, pulled into the sucking darkness.

Lina watched as Teach stepped forward, placing a shadow-shrouded hand on Magellan's chest. To her surprise, the warden shuddered, and the poison covering his body hissed as if in reply. It kind of looked like he was being infected by his own venom.

"Serves him right." Luke muttered from behind her.

Magellan's movements stilled, and Teach withdrew his hand, allowing the warden to collapse face-first to the floor. Then, Teach began to scream, dropping and rolling around on the ground, desperately shaking the afflicted limb in an attempt to get the poison off. His crew gathered around him.

"That was pretty careless of you, captain, and after I warned you about underestimating Magellan." Shiliew chided. "You got lucky, it looks like the poison weakens after he's dead. This wouldn't work on Kinjite at full strength."

He bent down, producing a syringe filled with liquid which he injected into his captain's arm, and Teach's cries of agony gradually subsided. He clambered to his feet, still breathing hard.

"Well, something like that is up to the dictates of fate, you know?" He said, dusting himself off as if nothing had happened. "Hey little girl, we're going to put on a great show in just a short while. Wanna come?"

It took Lina a moment to realize that the pirate was talking to her.

"Yeah, no thanks." She waved off his request. No way she was getting involved with this bunch of freaks. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Hey wait, was that some kind of anti-venom?"

Teach nodded, and stroked his scruffy beard with a finger.

"How 'bout it Shiliew?" He said. "Think you can spare one for them? They did do us a favor by fighting Magellan you know."

Shiliew grunted and rummaged through his coat, withdrawing another syringe and tossing to Lina.

"I suggest you take your friend and get out of here while you can then." Teach continued. "Wouldn't want whatever ship you came in to be caught up in the backwash."

He nodded to his crew and two of the men stepped forward, producing a black cloth which they held over Magellan's motionless body, concealing him from sight.

"Let's get outta here guys." Lina said, leading her party back through the dungeons, while Gourry and Luke carried the man they had rescued by his arms and legs. Amelia ran alongside, injecting him with the anti-venom, then focusing her healing efforts on Zelgadis whose granite skin could not accept needles. The prisoner stirred slightly as the antidote took effect, although they'd still have to fix up the damage that had already been done.

Lina breathed a sigh of relief when they passed the entrance and found that the fog cloud and their ship were both still intact. A couple of muted booms could still be heard now and then, but the defending fleet was apparently unwilling to risk hitting the prison structure. The crew sprinted onboard and unfurled their sails, and with a blast of wind to get them going the ship was off, leaving the Marines none the wiser.

As they drifted away, Lina heard a deep rumbling coming from behind them, followed by the thunderous crash of rushing water. She turned around to look, but the fog was too thick for her to see anything, so she shrugged and went back to her business.

* * *

...

* * *

Marineford was in ruins, the air filled with smoke and the cries of the wounded. The great headquarters building was marred by fissures, while the island itself had been split across the middle by Whitebeard's relentless power. Portgas D. Ace was dead, and the surviving pirates fled at the orders of their captain, carrying their wounded as they ran for their ships.

Whitebeard stood alone in the plaza, facing the combined strength of the Marine forces. Cut, pierced, burned and blasted, he remained an implacable giant, and repeated assaults broke against him like waves upon rocks. As a father, he would spend what remained of his life to buy the lives of his surviving sons.

Sengoku cursed under his breath when even Sakazuki fell, tumbling into the canyon created by Whitebeard's final attack. Garp's struggles ceased, and Sengoku released his grip, helping the Vice Admiral to his feet. Though there was still fury etched across Garp's features, it had cooled with Sakazuki's defeat, and Sengoku felt confident enough that his old friend wouldn't try anything rash.

"Regroup and keep attacking!" He turned and exhorted the Marines. "Whitebeard doesn't have much power left! Fight together and bring him down!"

The sound of clashing weapons was hushed as a shadow fell over the island, and something enormous plunged through the thick, gray clouds. It landed on the headquarters, pulverizing the structure and shaking the ground with the force of impact. Sengoku stumbled before regaining his bearings, and his mouth gaped when the pall of dust fell and revealed the object.

It was Impel Down. There was no mistaking the multi-tiered structure of the Great Underwater Prison, with a chunk of seabed still welded to its base. A solitary figure sat atop its peak, a colossal giant like no other.

"Oh, I think they spotted me." Sanjuan Wolf said. He waved playfully with a hand, then covered his mouth in mock fright.

A chunk of rubble detached from the prison, bearing a group of pirates on its surface as it flew down and crashed into the plaza. Burgess clambered from the debris, scratching his head and muttering an apology for the rough landing, while Marshall D. Teach stepped forward, spreading his arms with a sickening grin plastered on his face.

"Good to see you old man! It's been a while!" He called out to Whitebeard. "Looks like I got here in time to witness your death!"

Sengoku felt a chill running down his spine. He couldn't see Shiki anywhere, but that levitation was undoubtedly the Flying Pirate's ability. Had the Blackbeard Pirates recruited him too?

"Shiliew, you traitor…" He said as he spotted the former jailer among the pirates. "What happened to Magellan? And where's Shiki hiding, that damn bastard."

It wasn't Shiliew who replied, but Teach.

"Zehahahaha, why don't I show you right now?" He said, his voice practically bursting with barely hidden glee. "Doc! Let 'em have it!"

Doc Q dismounted, shooing his horse away, though the poor animal only managed a few halting steps before its legs gave out and it collapsed onto its side. Burying his face in his black fur coat, the doctor coughed once, then wiped his nose with a finger.

Sengoku's eyes widened as a tide of purple poison oozed from the doctor's body, coalescing into a towering skeletal torso, clutching a venom-forged scythe within its bony, clawed hands. Burgess thrust his arms skyward, and more masses of stone detached from structure of the great prison, filling the air with chunks of careening rubble. The Marines shrank back, their faces paling with fear.

"Are you seeing this you bastards?!" Blackbeard roared in triumph. "Go on and show the world, every one of those boring peace-lovers. Call up all of the half-assed pirates, the Marines, and all those fat fools in the World Government! All of us must answer to the hand of fate, and fate has chosen me!"

**"FROM NOW ON, THIS IS MY AGE!**"


	18. Chapter 18 - Miracle Worker

**Chapter 18: Miracle Worker**

**Impel Down Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina stood at the bow of their ship, her frown deepening when she heard a vocal outburst coming from behind her. After they'd escaped from the vicinity of Impel Down, several hours of useless drifting had finally convinced her that they were in an area of dead water. The ocean was as smooth as a pane of glass, with no currents to ride, not even the slightest hint of a breeze to ruffle their sails. She vaguely remembered something about there being "Calm Belt" regions on either side of the Grand Line, and this was probably it. Her compass functioned here, with the needle holding steady, and she was pretty sure they had come from the south.

Lina took solace in the fact that their ship was equipped with a pair of paddle wheels at the rear, and she had assigned Zelgadis to the task of figuring out how they worked. Once they got that going, they could return to the Grand Line without running themselves ragged casting wind spells.

"I never imagined that in the depths of hell, my life would be saved by a group of complete strangers! My friends, I'll forever treasure your kindness!" A shrill male voice said from behind.

"Yes Mr. Bon Clay! Even in hell, the flowers of love and joy bloom eternal!" Amelia's familiar voice replied.

Lina grimaced, and turned to see the man they had rescued entangled in a theatrical embrace with Amelia. With the action of the poison neutralized by the antidote, it had taken only a few more minutes to heal his remaining injuries, though he had lapsed in and out of consciousness until just a little while ago. With no more wounds, there was no longer any need for bandages, so they had given him a Marine uniform to wear, consisting of a white t-shirt and a pair of blue trousers to cover up his hairy legs.

"Alright, break it up! Break it up!" Lina approached and shoved the two apart. Who knew what kind of sappy nonsense they would start spouting if they were allowed to keep bouncing off each other.

With Bon Clay awake, they had been able to clarify his side of the story regarding what had been happening in the prison before they'd arrived. Apparently he'd been part of a jailbreak, with the goal of helping some pirate named Straw Hat Luffy rescue his brother from execution. Bon Clay himself had stayed behind, using his ability to fool the prison staff into opening the gate for the other escapees. An ability that he was all too eager to demonstrate.

"Tada!" He exclaimed as he shifted his appearance through a library of faces, then drooped when Lina just shrugged at the display. Changing appearances wasn't anything new or remarkable for her.

"Enough fooling around. Let's get something straight here." Lina said. "We didn't bust into that horrible prison because we're in the business of rescuing people for free. We got into it because we want something in return. We're looking for Emporio Ivankov because of some special cure he can do or something like that, and you said you knew where he was going, isn't that right?"

Bon Clay grinned wide, not at all put off by her demands. "Of course! Of course! There's no need to keep secrets between friends. People call Ivan a miracle worker, the queen of all queers who every queer in this world looks up to. And I saw it with my own eyes, a miracle in hell like the great heavenly garden of oh come my way."

Lina just blinked, but said nothing when Bon Clay's expression grew solemn.

"When I said goodbye to Straw Hat and Ivan, they were going to Marine Headquarters to rescue Straw Hat's brother." He said. He gazed up at the sun, which had passed the summit of its arc and was beginning to settle toward the west.

"If Ivan's still alive, he should be returning to the Momoiro Island, the pink paradise of the Grand Line where those with the hearts of maidens gather together. But alas, I know not what became of him."

"Would this help?"

Lina glanced over her shoulder to see Xellos sitting on the ship's railing, with a rolled up newspaper clutched in his free hand. He tossed it to Bon Clay, who grasped at the paper desperately, practically tearing it open in his anxiousness to begin reading. As his eyes scanned the paper they filled with tears, and he made no effort to repress or hide them. Lina could feel the shame and frustration rolling off him in waves.

"Where'd you get that thing anyway?" Lina turned to Xellos with a frown. "We've been looking around for hours and we haven't even seen a damn rock."

"A little bird sold it to me as it was passing by." Xellos said. "You might want to get into the habit of reading these, since it looks like we're going to be here for the long haul."

Lina made a thoughtful noise, which was interrupted by a low rumble from below the deck, accompanied by the sound of sloshing water. Zelgadis emerged from the cabin and shot her a quick nod, and gradually the ship began to move.

Lina's gaze returned to Bon Clay, who had finished and was sitting cross-legged on the deck, wearing a contemplative expression. When he noticed her looking, he lifted his head, and allowed the newspaper to fall from his fingers.

"Ivan's alive. That's a definite." He flashed her a smile, his melancholy at least partly dispelled. "So? How 'bout that cure guys?"

"Then this kingdom of queers." Lina crossed her arms over her chest. "You know where it is?"

* * *

...

* * *

The sun rose, the morning light seeping through the mist and scattering into a dazzling rainbow over Momoiro Island. Soft waves lapped at the pristine white sands while heart-shaped cliffs rose over the center of the isle, covered in pastels of pink and orange. Standing on deck, Lina leaned forward onto the railing, drifting into a relaxed tension before being jolted out of it by a rather unbecoming scream.

"Hey Lina, could you explain something to me?" Gourry said as he caught his breath, wearing an expression of disgust as he placed his hand mirror face down, cringing from it as if he were afraid of his own reflection. The carefully folded frills of his pink dress waved in the ocean breeze, and his long blonde hair had been tied up with a bright red bow. A coating of glossy lipstick completed the look.

"Why exactly are you making me wear this outfit again?!" He wailed.

Lina stifled a laugh at his expense.

"Gourry, have you even seen that island?" She pointed toward the landmass ahead of their bow. "Look at it. It's like the long-haired sparkly pretty boy of islands, or the rainbow fairy peacock of islands. Just twelve colors, not colorful enough."

"But anyway, you heard what Bon Clay said." She continued. "It's the island where those with the hearts of maidens gather, ruled by the queen of all queers. And we're here to ask for a cure so we need to make a good impression. That's why you have to wear it."

"Oh, of course you'd say that, but I know you. You just wanted to dress me up didn't you?" Gourry replied with a petulant frown.

"No really, it's not like that at all." Lina said, hiding her smirk behind a hand. Ignoring Gourry's moping, she tilted her head to look past him, where Amelia had finished up with Zelgadis and was beaming proudly beside her creation. For his part, Zelgadis looked conflicted, his expression shifting as indignation wrestled with his determination to get the cure.

Lina bit back a gasp. Zelgadis was dressed in a sapphire blue gown, tailored to highlight the feminine curves that Amelia had crafted underneath, with a pair of blue earrings that glinted in the morning light. Arm length evening gloves served to cover up his condition, matching perfectly with his makeup to produce an air of sophistication. She'd even managed to do some work on his wire-like hair, drawing it up with a headband, leaving only a few strands to frame his face. Quite frankly, he wouldn't have looked out of place as a female attendee of the annual Saillune royal ball.

"Oh this looks like so much fun, I wish I could participate. But Mr. Zelgadis, you are simply fabulous." Xellos said from his perch atop the cabin, drawing out the pronunciation of that last word and getting a growl of reply.

"Oops, I guess that's Miss Zelgadis for now." He added. "Wouldn't want to blow your cover!"

Zelgadis's outfit had cost some of Lina's treasure stash to buy, which Amelia had promised to repay once they got home. Still, Lina couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, as if it really were a competition. There was no doubt that Amelia's involvement in Saillune's royal court had given her a big advantage in terms of experience.

Lina cursed under her breath and rummaged through her bags for more makeup, jewelry, anything to even the scales. She hadn't gotten this far by giving up easily, and now wasn't the time to start!

To his credit, Gourry immediately deduced her motive, and a terrified look fell over his eyes. He turned and sprinted down the length of the ship, nearly running into Luke and Milina when they emerged from the cabin. Luke's jaw dropped at the sight, and Milina's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Hey you're late, but I think we still have some time before we'll want to land." Lina waved to them. "Check the downstairs closet, we've got Luke's all ready too."

Luke cringed at the suggestion, and a gulp of nervous saliva inched its way down his throat. He slowly turned his head until his eyes were on Milina, waiting for her answer. A flash of amusement flickered across her face, before fading into her usual stoic expression.

"Ridiculous." Milina said. Beside her, Luke sagged in visible relief. He shifted aside as Bon Clay pranced out from the cabin, ending his movement with a quick ballerina twirl on his toes.

"Oh yeah! Looking sexy! Smooch!" He said, blowing a pair of kisses at Gourry and Zelgadis and causing both men to flinch.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina dropped back onto the deck after a quick aerial tour over the island, having located the palace atop the central mount. Group flight was out of the question, lest Gourry and Zelgadis's fragile disguises come apart, so the crew released the anchor by a rocky cove and hopped ashore. Once on the island, the sky quickly faded from its usual blue to a shade of bright pink. The water was pink, the grass was pink, even the roads they were walking on were all pink, pink, pink.

"If we make it out of here alive, I am never wearing pink again." Lina said, at least partially seriously. She made a face when a flock of birds flew by, with lipstick smeared on their beaks, mascara on their lashes and long blonde wigs that fluttered as they passed.

Then there was the matter of the locals that they had attracted.

Slowly, reluctantly, Lina turned back to glance at the rear of their party, where a trio of positively ogreish looking men dressed in ill-fitting women's clothing had started following them around. Xellos was gone off to who knows where, while one of the transvestites had struck up a conversation with Bon Clay. This left the other two free to accost the only male member of their party who was not disguised as a woman.

"Luke was it? You know you have such a cute face." One of them sidled up next to Luke, causing him to flinch and stumble away.

"Are you just being shy?" Luke jumped when the other man whispered in his ear. "I love that girlish modesty! Why don't you and I have a cup of tea together?"

"You two piss off!" Luke yelled back. "I'm not interested in you or you! Milina is the only one in the world for me!"

Luke's rejections only seemed to egg the two on, while Gourry and Zelgadis walked ahead, having drawn little attention thanks to their disguises. Both of them kept their heads down and their backs facing toward the squabbling trio, looking grateful and terrified as they tried their best to ignore Luke's plight. The constant sense that a fight was about to break out was starting to get on Lina's nerves, and she distracted herself by forming a small fireball in one hand, shifting it to her fingertip, splitting it apart then merging the sparks back together.

The road they were on lead them toward the clearing around the palace, and the heart-shaped tops of the castle towers rose into view over the pink foliage. A crowd could be seen gathered in front of the gates, chattering excitedly. They turned as Lina brought her group closer, and Gourry froze when he noticed nearly all of them were burly men wearing skirts and wigs. Even Zelgadis's face turned a shade or two lighter.

"Oh, are these the candies who landed here this morning?" A voice called over the congregation, its pitch straddling the line between masculine and feminine.

Lina looked up from her diversion in time to see the crowd part, making way as a tall, slim woman sauntered through. She cut a distinctive figure in her pinkish bodysuit, her purple afro swaying as she walked, a metal crown rattling from atop her head. Sharp points extended from her fingertips and she jabbed them into her sides, causing her figure to expand into the form of a man with an especially large head. Lina raised an eyebrow; this wasn't just a fleeting transformation, but actual body alteration. She was just starting to catch on who this guy was when Bon Clay bounded out from her group, giving an enthusiastic greeting that positively identified the man as Emporio Ivankov.

"What? Is that you Bon-boy?" Ivankov blinked in astonishment, then rushed forward to capture the other man in a tearful embrace, to the cheers and whoops of the crowd behind him. The two launched into a series of rapid-fire explanations regarding what had happened since their separation, while Lina tapped her toes, clamping down on her impatience as best she could.

"Hmm-hmm, I suppose I must thank you for rescuing Bon-boy and bringing him back to me. I guess that puts me in your debt." Ivankov stood and turned to face Lina. "Bon-boy says you have need of my abilities, yes? That is why you rode the peachy current and found your way here, no? Say vat change you want made, and I vill grant your wish."

Lina opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Zelgadis shoved his way to the front.

"I'm here for a cure." He said, drawing some approving hoots from the crowd of transvestites when they noticed the pitch of his voice. Ignoring them, he rolled up one of his sleeves and exposed his pebbly blue skin.

"I want to turn my body back to being a normal human." He said.

"Vell, I've never seen this sort of condition before." Ivankov bent down and ran a finger over Zelgadis's arm. "But a Devil Fruit's power is only limited by the imagination of its user. I ate the Horm-Horm fruit, so now I can remodel people from the inside."

"Indeed, some of the men here might once have been women." He gestured at his followers. "And some of the women could have been men, because this is the paradise of freedom! Hee-haw!"

Hormones? Something clicked together within Lina's mind, but before she could voice it, Ivankov extended the needle-points from his fingertips and swiped them across Zelgadis's arm.

"Hey!" Zelgadis cried and jerked back, falling into as good a ready stance as he could manage in his getup. His posture relaxed slightly when he noticed Ivankov fingering a patch of blue skin that he had removed.

"I vill experiment on this and get into contact with you once I've found a way." Ivankov nodded. He poked at the sample with a finger, seeming to inject something into it, then made a thoughtful noise when no visible change occurred. He motioned to one of his subordinates, who vanished and returned with one of the snail phone devices, which Ivankov picked up and plopped into Zelgadis's open hands.

"If you can manipulate hormones and change people's genders, that means you can do something to grow my chest right?" Lina interrupted.

An awkward silence fell over the group, broken by a groan from Amelia's direction. Lina shot her a venomous glare to shut her up, then felt herself blushing slightly under Ivankov's amused gaze. She shook her head to rid herself of her own doubts.

"What?!" She demanded, eliciting a round of giggles. "Was there something wrong with what I asked?"

"Hush now, candies. Don't sweat the small stuff." Ivankov said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "That should be easy enough to do. Just come a little closer and I vill grow your chest for you as you wish."

He motioned for Lina to approach, but as she did, Ivankov suddenly twirled around to face his admirers.

"Or not! Hee-haw!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms wide, to the cheers and laughter of the crowd.

"You're not going to do it? You were pulling my leg?" Someone said.

Lina just stared. Was he making fun of her? A part of her mind insisted that maybe this was some sort of test, and that if she persisted, then he would come around. After a short internal struggle, this part won out over her building embarrassment.

"So, what? Are you going to do it or not?" She demanded.

"Hmm-hmm, I guess if you're going to twist my arm about it, then I have no choice but to comply." Ivankov replied. Needle-points appeared on his fingertips and he waved for Lina to come closer.

"Or I won't! Hee-haw!" He somersaulted away, landing in front of his followers.

"You're such a character! You sure fooled us!" They chanted in unison.

"Alright fine! I didn't want your stupid hormones anyway!" Lina snapped, finally losing the battle to contain her temper.

"Let's go you guys. We got what we came here for, and we have places to be." She said, gathering up her party and leading them back to the ship, making a special effort not to pout on the way back to shore.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina looked over the ship's banister at Bon Clay, who had followed them to their ship. Behind her, Gourry stepped out from the cabin, having changed back into his normal clothing, pulling up the anchor while Zelgadis untied the sails.

Lina didn't quite know what sort of reaction she was expecting from Zelgadis, what with never having come this close to his goal and all, but silent contemplation certainly wasn't on the list of possibilities. If she didn't know better, she might even have thought he was starting to have second thoughts.

Amelia arrived, joining Lina at the railing as the ship caught the ocean breeze and began to slide away from shore.

"So what are you planning to do now? I mean, since you're free now." Amelia asked the transvestite.

"Oh, I think I'll hide out here for a while, since I'm still a wanted man you know." Bon Clay said.

"Besides." He gestured toward his left, where a black-suited man was sprinting across the beach with a small mob of locals in hot pursuit. "I spy an old friend, and we simply have so much catching up to do. And you guys?"

"Well, we were originally heading to Fishman Island before we got pulled onto all of these side-journeys." Lina said. She glanced toward Zelgadis, confirming that his Log Pose was set and pointing in the direction they should go.

"We should probably be getting back on that road now. We've got, let's call it an appointment with some treasure." She explained.

"In that case, I suppose it is time to say goodbye." Bon Clay said, bringing his hands over his head in a ballerina pose. Already they were far enough that his voice was starting to fade.

"Try not to be sad, for journeys must always end in parting." He recited. "Yet while our time together was brief, the bonds of friendship forged will last for an eternity! Farewell friends!"

The crew waved back as the wind picked up, carrying the ship forward, and soon Momoiro Island was just a pink point on the horizon. It was only then that Luke burst into a fit of laughter.

"What? What's so funny? Got something you wanna share with the class?" Lina rounded on him.

"Oh it's nothing, I just like seeing annoying girls get what they deserve." Luke replied, straightening himself out. "Trying to use our favor to fix up your washboard chest, typical selfish behavior."

"Oh yeah? I don't need to take this from you of all people." Lina said. "You know maybe we should've just abandoned you on that island before we got on the ship. Obviously you aren't getting anywhere with Milina here, but at least now you know how she feels about you."

"And hey, back there you actually had somebody who liked you." Lina cooed. "So who knows, maybe you could even learn to feel the same way about them."

Luke's face turned purple with embarrassment as he sputtered out a string of denials, and Lina flashed him a quick smirk to let him know she wasn't buying his excuses.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And that's a wrap on the somewhat shorter Impel Down Arc. Thanks to all of you for reading!


	19. Chapter 19 - Discovery

**Chapter 19: Discovery**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

"Pirate ship sighted off the starboard bow!" Amelia called from her lookout post atop the main mast.

Lina rushed out onto the deck with binoculars in hand, scanning the horizon for their quarry. And sure enough, there it was, a sleek caravel ship with a colorful parrot carving jutting from its bow. The last five pirate ships they'd encountered over the past few weeks of sailing down the Grand Line had all been similarly decorated. Weirdos, all of them.

The pirate ship turned away, angling to escape, and Lina was reminded that they were still using the Marine warship that they had stolen back in Alabasta. That was fine, chasing down fleeing pirates was what their ship was designed to do.

"Zel! Turn on the engine and man the helm!" Lina yelled into the cabin. "If these guys get away I'm putting their treasure on your tab. With interest."

Zelgadis obliged, and the paddle-wheels chugged as they spun up to speed, churning up twin sprays of salty sea water. A conjured gust into the sails sent their ship surging forward, and soon they were closing on the enemy's aft. Luke joined them on deck, and with well-drilled precision he sent a flurry of wind blades tearing through the pirates' sails, just as Milina sealed up their cannon ports and froze their rudder. Xellos sat off to one side, sipping from a cup of hot tea while he watched impassively.

As they swung past, Lina swept the pirate ship's deck with a blast of air, sending several men tumbling off the sides before they could gather themselves for a counter-attack. A vibration blast shattered the front mast in a shower of wooden splinters, and it crashed down over the prow, pulverizing the figurehead and scattering the pirate crew. Lina dusted off her hands, her practiced eye deeming that the pirates had been sufficiently intimidated by their display. Hoisting Gourry up by the undersides of his arms, she lifted off, dropping back down once they were over the enemy's deck.

"Alright you bums, hand over all your treasure and maybe I'll let you live." Lina said, ambling toward the cowering pirates with a fireball burning in her hand. Threats definitely sounded a lot better when she was the one making them.

"You're the one responsible for this?" A pirate stepped forward, probably the captain going by his blue and gold coat, waving a jewel-encrusted sword which Lina made a note to seize along with the rest of their valuables. He was a large man, standing a full head taller than Gourry, with a black eyepatch, a matching tricorne, and a long, unkempt beard with a few streaks of mottled gray.

Lina rolled her eyes. Basically the dime-a-dozen stereotypical pirate, just missing a peg leg and a talking parrot on his shoulder. Although she supposed the ship itself could have been the parrot.

"Yeah? And what about it?" Lina said, cocking her head up. She smirked when a flash of fury came over the pirate's face, and his grip tightened on the hilt of his weapon. In the corner of her eye, she could see Gourry fingering his own sword, ready to leap into the fray at any sign of suspicious movement.

"Captain…" One of the other pirates tugged on the captain's sleeve, clutching a piece of paper in his other hand.

"Captain, that girl's the 'Sea Witch'. Sea Witch Lina Inverse!"

A passing breeze blew the paper out of man's trembling hand, and it landed on the deck in front of Lina. She looked down. It was a wanted poster, a wanted poster of her. The picture was still the same as the one she'd seen in the newspaper once before, and she still had no idea when the Marines had managed to take it. But her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they scanned over the bounty value.

375 million Belis.

"Hey wait a just minute!" Lina exclaimed and stamped her foot on the deck. "Three hundred and seventy five million? 'Sea Witch'? What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Careful captain." The other pirate whispered, apparently oblivious to Lina's brewing anger. "They say she destroyed two of the Gates of Justice, and fought off a Marine fleet that had an admiral on board."

Lina felt her face flush hot, and her shoulders began to tremble, her empty hand clenching into a tight fist. The tiny part of her mind that was not overwhelmed by pure rage noted that the pirate captain was starting to sweat profusely.

"Hey guys, you really need to get out of here." Gourry's voice was filled with honest concern as he spoke to the pirates. "I know this is your ship and all, but if I were you I'd just cut my losses and dive into the ocean before Lina goes on a rampage. At least that way you'll still have your lives right?"

"It's too late for that!" Lina roared, and the fireball in her palm flared twice as bright. Her hand whipped forward, sending the spell crashing into the deck, blowing it apart in a shower of flames and blackened fragments.

A cry from below deck snapped Lina out of her fury, and peering into the hole, she could see a man tied to the section of the central mast there. It looked like he'd been caught by the edge of the blast, the flames weakening his bindings enough to allow him to wriggle free. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get far before the ship began to break apart beneath him, splitting in two with a series of sharp cracks and dropping him into the debris-strewn water.

"Help! Help!" He cried and struggled on the surface. "I can't swim!"

* * *

...

* * *

"Well I hope that was fun. So whose tab will the lost treasure go on now?" Zelgadis said once they had returned.

"Just hush up." Lina replied, frowning. "A ship that ugly didn't deserve to exist anyway. And besides, a good round of beating up on some pirates in the morning has benefits all on its own."

"Oh? Then why so glum?" Zelgadis said with a smirk.

Lina opened her mouth, and was about to give him an earful about why she was so upset. Instead, she settled for turning around with a huff and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Lina's just mad because she got a really really big bounty." Gourry whispered to Zelgadis behind her. "And a new nickname, but I think I like it better than the old one."

A piece of wood the size of a human head, applied with considerable force to the side of his skull, was enough to shut Gourry's mouth.

With nothing of value left salvageable from the burning remains of the pirate ship, they had turned their own ship around, back onto the path that the Log Pose prescribed. Well, nothing except for the passenger they'd picked up.

Lina looked down at the man they had rescued, who was still kneeling on the deck, spitting up mouthfuls of water that he had swallowed. His long, multi-colored jacket was a little singed from the fireball, and his bright pink hair was soaking wet, drooping down over his shoulders. Coughing up the last of the water, he wiped the lenses of his goggles clear, and took a moment to adjust his pointy green cap.

"I really, really must thank you for saving me from those pirates." He quickly stood up and made a small bow, a wide grin appearing on his face despite all that he'd been through. "So sorry for the late introduction, but the name's Chameleone."

Lina just shrugged. The man's somewhat high-pitched voice was already getting on her nerves, and she didn't really want to listen to him talk any more than she had to. Then, a question popped up in her mind.

"Hey wait, if you can't swim, is that because you're a Devil Fruit user?" She asked.

"What? No, no, that would be so ridiculous." Chameleone replied, holding up his hands in gesture of denial. "I'm just a simple collector who doesn't really get out very often."

He deflated slightly. "And well, you sort of saw right there what tends to happen to me when I do get out."

Lina nodded. "So, what? You want us to drop you off somewhere?"

"Next island will do." Chameleone said. "And by the way, I didn't quite catch what they were saying while I was tied up down there, but are you guys pirates? I don't see a pirate flag anywhere on this ship."

"We don't have a flag." Lina said, then sighed. "It's… complicated."

* * *

...

* * *

They caught sight of land by mid-afternoon, the very same island that the Log Pose was pointing to, with a large central mountain ringed by a seaside town. A quick scan revealed no Marine bases on the island; it would've been pretty troublesome if there were since they didn't know how long it would take for the Log to set. The crew dropped anchor in one of the ports and disembarked, and Chameleone quickly vanished, probably eager to get away from what was essentially still a pirate ship.

Supplies came first of course, and soon the town's usual market crowd was treated to the sight of the crew purchasing cartloads of food using stolen pirate treasure, and hauling it back to be preserved on the ship. Then, with essential duties done, there was time for exploration until they could set out once more.

Strolling around town with the others, Lina got a sense of sheer history from the buildings she was seeing. Most were constructed from carved stone, built to last, with obvious divisions and extensions where repairs and modifications had been made over the years. There were clear stylistic differences from one neighborhood to the next, marking the passage of time through architectural change. Here and there, Lina noticed half-buried ruins jutting from the ground, some with newer buildings built on top of them.

Lina's gaze was drawn to the town's central clock tower as it chimed out five strokes, announcing the arrival of five o'clock. Her eyes stopped on what appeared to be a dark stone block lodged in its front, just below the clock's face.

"Hey isn't that a poneglyph?" Lina blurted out loud, causing everyone else to follow her stare to the embedded relic. Before they had even finished registering what they were seeing, Lina was already off, proceeding toward the tower at a brisk walking pace. Stopping at the base of the tower, she waited for the others to catch up, then invoked a levitation to raise herself up to eye level with the block. It was definitely a poneglyph, completely unworn unlike the surrounding stone, with the same kinds of characters carved into its surface that she had seen in two locations before.

"Well that's unexpected. Found another one have we?" Xellos rose up beside her. "So would you like to know what it says?"

Lina turned her head and gave Xellos a nod, then drifted aside to allow him to read.

"Hmm, this passage appears to be a verse of some sort." Xellos stroked his chin and cleared his throat.

"With the veiling of the sun, in the starless night I hear a call. The Aspirant, the Hopeful, the King of the Blue Sky. In dreams I hear his name, and in dreams we meet again."

He paused to give Lina a moment to take it all in, then shrugged. "So what do you suppose this is trying to tell us?"

Lina's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an explosion, and she turned to see a fiery blast engulfing the town's marketplace, the flames billowing into the sky before fading into a cloud of smoke. It actually looked kind of like the result of a fireball spell.

Lina turned back to Xellos. Whatever was happening at the market wasn't her problem right now. Maybe later she'd see about investigating, and having the locals pay her to deal with the culprit.

"It sounds like…" Lina started, motioning with her hands as she tried to get her point across. "It actually sounds kind of like a description for some sort of astral entity. You know like you Mazoku, something you can draw power from for spells."

"Oh, interesting." Xellos said. "So you're saying you might be able to develop a new spell with this information?"

Lina scratched her forehead with a finger. A new spell straight from this? That was definitely in the cards. If this really was a description of an astral power, then she had all the pieces necessary - titles, descriptors and so forth - to construct the spell's chaos words. She'd be missing the power words of course, which also served as the spell's common name, but just having the chaos words would still allow her to get a feel for the amount of progress she was making.

However, the structure of the incantation depended on the power level of the entity in question, and until she hit on the right set she'd be guessing blindly. There was also the possibility that her theurgic incantations were just not going to work here at all, but Lina didn't think that was particularly likely. She had patterned the Giga Slave's incantation on that of the Dragon Slave after all, and no matter what sort of astral power was being described by the block, it was probably not going to be more alien than the Lord of Nightmares.

"Lemme try something." Lina said, bringing her hands up to a casting position, vaguely noting the others watching intently from below. She'd test an incantation for a Dynast-class power, and then try to work it out from there.

"_Supreme king of the blue sky, grant me your power from beyond the veil of dreams._"

Lina paused for a second before acknowledging that nothing was happening, not even a flash of light or a puff of smoke to reward her for her efforts. Mentally, she could feel the attempt had failed as well. She hadn't been hoping for a miracle right off the bat, but if this was the right set to use, she should've felt some power running through her that she could shape with her mind, and feel out how it tended to flow. Then the mental steps could be worked out, the chaos words modified to draw more precisely from the desired source, and power words added to unify the spell energies. It was a process she had gone through quite a few times before.

Lina briefly considered dismissing the whole thing as total bogus, but quickly shut out that thought. People didn't tend to write useless nonsense on ancient, indestructible blocks after all, and it was still worth experimenting on with all their free time at sea.

A yelp from below jolted Lina from her concentration, and she glanced down to see her friends surrounded by a group of six vicious looking men. She cursed under her breath as she noticed one of them holding a long-barreled rifle to Amelia's forehead.

"Back off blue man, or I'll blow her brains out." He hissed at Zelgadis. For his part, Zelgadis's expression was positively murderous, but he kept himself still for Amelia's sake.

"Wait, please, we're innocent." Amelia pleaded. "We aren't villains, really!"

Another of the men stepped forward, probably the leader from the way the others moved aside for him. He was tall and heavily built, with thick, calloused hands and a number of nicks and scars on his face. A well-worn Marine officer coat hung from his shoulders, covering what appeared to be a thick, padded vest. A weapon like a small cannon was attached to the upper part of one arm, kept steady as he walked by a number of belts and straps.

"Innocent?" He said with a sneer, staring up at Lina, greed burning in his eyes as he contemplated her bounty.

"All pirates are dangerous." He continued. "There aren't any innocents in the company of a three hundred seventy five million bounty, and as bounty hunters, we're here to take you to your just sentence."

"Oh just screw off with your justice talk." Lina shot back. "If you're so hot about justice, maybe you could actually prove some guilt instead of showing up out of nowhere and mouthing off."

The bounty hunter growled, and in response, his rifle-toting subordinate tightened his grip around his trigger, pressing the barrel of his gun against Amelia's temple. Amelia whimpered and Lina tensed with a spell on her lips. If she was too slow, one twitch of the man's finger would send a bullet into Amelia's skull, and that wasn't something that a Recovery spell could even begin to mend. The air itself seemed to grow still as that moment stretched on for ages.

"Fine, but we should at least get a fair trial." Lina said, breaking the stifling silence, dropping to the ground while Xellos touched down behind her. She held her hands up to show that she wasn't holding anything.

"Oh you'll get your trial all right." The bounty hunter nodded and smirked, stepping forward until he loomed over her. "If it was up to me, I'd just give you what you deserve right now, but the result will be the same either way."

"Take us to your court then." Lina said, her eyes never leaving the man's face.

The leader of the bounty hunters smirked and produced a set of cuffs, one of which Lina allowed him to clamp around her wrists. She turned, giving her shipmates a nod and a wink. If the hunters tried anything funny, they could use the unlocking spell to get their restraints off, and just hope to hell that surprise would allow one of them to do something quickly enough to rescue Amelia. One by one, the others accepted the manacles, Zelgadis and Luke last and most reluctantly.

The leader of the hunters wheeled around, and without another word, he started down a street that ran behind the clock tower, heading toward the island's central mount. The other hunters fell in line behind him, dragging Amelia with them. Lina followed them, and her crewmates trailed after her, anger etched across their faces with the exception of Xellos, who wore the same expression of mild amusement that he almost always had. Lina kept her eyes on the man with the rifle as she walked, silently swearing that as soon as they got out of this, she'd show these smug hunters just how she got to have such a large bounty to begin with.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Special thanks to Velkyn Karma for giving permission to use the idea that made this arc possible. Thank you so much!


	20. Chapter 20 - Trial by Six

**Chapter 20: Trial by Six**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

The bounty hunters lead them past the clock tower, taking them through a tangle of back alleys and winding corridors. Lina followed closely, the better to make sure they weren't going to try anything with Amelia still in their grip. The six men were probably feeling a bit more confident with Lina's group cuffed as they were, and she hoped they would retain enough respect for her capabilities to keep themselves honest.

The narrow passages began to merge, and soon they were back out in the open, where Lina could see that most of the town's major streets seemed to converge on a large cavern carved into the side of the island's central mountain. Stone columns held up the cave's ceiling, and what she had mistaken for natural rock formations at a distance were in fact worked stone, forming a gabled roof and frame for the cave entrance.

The bounty hunters brought them into the cave, which remained faintly lit despite the setting sun, illuminated by veins of crystals in its walls that glowed with a dim blue light. Lina glanced down, and was somewhat surprised to see that the floor was paved with smooth cobblestones. This definitely wasn't a natural cave, and she briefly wondered why so much effort was being spent to hold court in a place like this.

The two groups walked for some-odd minutes until they emerged into a large chamber deep within the mountain. Lina's eyes widened fractionally at the sight. The walls were lined with the glowing blue crystals, not just veins but chunks as big as her head and getting bigger from there. Particularly eye-catching was the pillar of crystal rising up from the center of the floor, connecting the ground to the round domed ceiling. Unlike the others, this structure seemed to flash through a whole spectrum of colors, its light refracting through its many smooth facets and providing more than enough illumination for them to see clearly. Lina felt a tingle of remembrance at the sight, as if she had seen its like before.

"Now then, it seems everyone has arrived." An elderly voice spoke up. "The messengers have informed us of the matter at hand, so we are ready to begin."

Lina followed the voice to the far side of the room, where there was a trio of raised desks placed in a line. A bespectacled old woman sat at the center, with a pair of elderly men occupying the desks on either side of her, flanked by a pair of guards dressed in colorful ceremonial clothing. Lina supposed that these three elders were here to act as arbitrators of the law or something.

"Mr. Easton." The old woman addressed the bounty hunter leader, gesturing with a hand at the space in front of her. "Before we start the trial, you and your men are to assemble yourselves here toward my right, facing us. Take your prisoner with you. And Miss Lina Inverse, your group will stand in a line toward my left."

The two groups did as bade, and as she walked past the central crystal to her designated position, Lina noticed another woman in the room, sitting cross-legged on a rug located off to one side. She was slender and spectral in her flowing white gown, which shimmered as it reflected the scintillating colors of the crystalline pillar. Though her features were mostly hidden by a hood drawn up over her head, and the upper portion of her face was further covered by a blindfold, she seemed to be a lot younger than the old woman acting as the presiding judge.

The sound of footsteps on stone halted once everyone had stopped at their assigned places, the bounty hunters still dragging Amelia with them with their rifle muzzle pressed to her head. Though the two lines were standing roughly side by side, a constant barrage of angry glares flew back and forth between them. If looks could kill, both crews would've been as dead as doornails by the time the old woman spoke up again.

"Good, we will open with some introductions." The old woman said. "Mr. Easton, your group may begin for us by stating your names and occupations."

"I'm Easton, and I'm the captain of this bounty hunter group." The leader of the hunters said. He turned his head, licking his lips and looking down the line at Lina.

"Vice-captain Soto here." The next man proclaimed. He was tall and muscular, though not to the extent of his captain, and balding, which he partially covered up with a black bandanna. A large, cross-hilted sword hung from his back, attached to his torso by a leather strap that he constantly fingered.

"Jan." The man holding Amelia at gunpoint said. Dressed in a dark overcoat and suit and a pair of knee-height riding boots, he stood with a sort of relaxed swagger despite being the one responsible for their hostage. His face was shaded by a wide-brimmed fedora, and his eyes were obscured by a pair of dark, reflective glasses.

"Sniping and navigating are my jobs on this crew." He added after a pause.

"Dirk. I'm the doctor of this crew." The next man said, his voice muffled by the beaked mask that he wore over his mouth. For someone who supposedly advocated health, he looked positively emaciated, with gaunt cheeks, sunken eyes, and bony-knobbed elbows and knees visible beneath his long white robes. A large pack was attached to his waist on his left, filled to overflowing with an array of knives, needles and other gleaming medical implements.

There was a short pause before the next of the bounty hunters realized it was his turn to speak.

"Asad. Tracker." He said, swaying from foot to foot, twirling a throwing knife between his fingers. Dressed in just a t-shirt and shorts, with his messy hair tied up into a half-dozen bundles, he only seemed to be half paying attention, glancing around at the various gemstones jutting from the chamber walls.

The last man was the smallest of the bounty hunter group, standing just a bit taller than Lina with his slightly hunched posture. He stepped forward, and after a moment of seeming indecision, gave the old woman a small bow.

"Ah… r-right. The name's Gambi." He said with a nervous twitch. "And well, I only joined up a few days ago so I don't really have a set job on the crew yet. So sorry, so sorry."

Lina grimaced as the small man stepped back into line with the others. There was something fake about his skittish demeanor, like he was just going through the motions rather than actually feeling any genuine fear. These guys were seriously underestimating her.

Lina's thoughts on the matter were interrupted when the three elders nodded in acknowledgement, and the old woman waved for her group to begin their introductions.

"I'm Lina. Lina Inverse." She began. "And I guess on our ship you could say I'm like the captain."

If it was any other occasion, Lina might've expected some sort of objection from Luke, but right now was not the time to be cracking jokes.

"I'm Gourry Gabriev. Lina's bodyguard." Came the next answer from her right. Gourry's usual easygoing manner was absent, and Lina could see that he was keeping his hand close to the hilt of his sword, his senses trained on the six bounty hunters lined up beside them.

"Zelgadis." Was the next reply, spoken in a low, sullen tone. He glanced down at the Log Pose attached to his wrist, before adding, "I guess this makes me the navigator."

"Is it my turn?" Amelia asked from the hunters' side. At the old woman's approving nod, she continued, "I'm Amelia, and I guess since I'm the only one who can cast the… well, then I suppose that makes me the healer."

"Luke." Was the next response. There was a long pause as the elders waited for him to elaborate, but he simply shrugged and said nothing.

"Milina." Once again the old woman gestured for her to explain further, but Lina supposed if they had to group themselves into these ship roles, then Luke and Milina really didn't have any that they knew of.

"And I am Xellos! The mysterious priest!" Xellos said, in a voice that was bright and altogether too cheerful for the proceedings. The old woman sighed in exasperation, obviously unsatisfied with the final three responses.

"I suppose we can continue with this." She said, nodding to the man seated at her right, who paused to clear his throat.

"Miss Lina Inverse." The old man began. "You and your crewmates stand here today charged with a number of serious crimes, including first-degree arson, interfering with commerce through use of violence, committing destruction by explosives in a place of public use resulting in severe bodily harm, eleven counts of attempted-"

"Hey wait a minute!" Lina interrupted as she mentally connected the dots. "Are you saying you think that blast in the marketplace was us?"

"Allow me to finish." The old man cut her off. "And once I have done so, and the witness present has spoken, then you will be permitted to present your defense."

Lina rolled her eyes but kept silent, and settled for allowing the old man to list off the remaining accusations. They were basically what she would've expected as the result of setting off an explosion in a crowded marketplace, although it seemed at least that nobody had died as a result.

"Now Mr. Easton." The old woman picked up once the list of charges had been finished. "You may send forth your witness."

Easton smirked and nodded to his rookie, and the small man, Gambi, stepped forward, giving a quick bow to his captain and the three elders.

"It was this girl!" He suddenly jabbed a finger at Lina. "I saw her throw something into the market, and then the whole place went up in flames!"

"Oh is that how it is?" Lina shot back, ignoring the small man and directing her words at Easton. "You want my bounty, so you just have one of your men make up a bunch of crap to justify getting it right? When that street blew up, we were all looking at the Poneglyph in the clock tower."

"So you're admitting to translating the Poneglyph then?" Easton was practically laughing. "Translating those things is a crime against the World Government itself!"

"Wait what?" Lina said, her lip quivering in a way that probably looked pretty suspicious for a moment before she got it under control. Translating these ancient relics was illegal? She wondered for a moment whether it was because of the weapons, or maybe some other reason.

"We weren't translating anything. Nobody was actually reading those symbols." She quickly covered for herself. To her silent dismay, the bounty hunters didn't look particularly convinced.

"Guilty as charged!" Easton crowed. "Now you can come with me the easy way, or we can do things the hard way."

"Just try it!" Lina yelled back. "If you want a fight I can take you and all your goons on."

The tension building in the air was so thick that it was like looking through a pane of glass, defusing just slightly when the old woman spoke up.

"So then Miss Lina Inverse, do you dispute the accusations being set against yourself and your crew?"

Everyone fell silent, and thirteen pairs of eyes turned back to look toward the judges' benches.

"Of course I do." Lina said, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "We were at the clock tower when the market blew up. We had nothing to do with that, hell, we were buying supplies there just a bit earlier."

"And do you swear by the gods that your testimony is true and honest?" The woman continued.

"Yeah, I do." Lina said. She paused briefly at the mention of gods - she hadn't actually seen any evidence of worship in all the islands they'd visited so far. She noticed as well that the old woman wasn't pressing the issue of the Poneglyph. Maybe it wasn't actually illegal, and the bounty hunters were just trying to use it to get under her skin.

"She swears? And what, you're just gonna believe her?" Easton interrupted with a yell, shoving his way past one of his subordinates to stand before the old woman's podium. "Do you know how much the World Government wants this little witch?!"

"We are not a World Government member, Mr. Easton." The woman replied, her voice slow and meticulous. "We have our own laws, and our own traditions here, and they are very clear on that regard. And while your services are appreciated, if you were to place yourself in violation, you would no longer be able to find sanctuary here."

The man, Easton, growled deep in his throat, shooting a glare at Lina but saying nothing more.

"Now then." The woman said, folding her hands together. She paused for a moment, then nodded at the hooded young woman sitting off to one side. Lina's puzzlement at the gesture only increased when the young woman returned the nod, inclining her head in precisely the right direction despite her blindfold.

"You, the accused, have the right to contest the charges being laid." The old woman explained. "The challenge would be issued against these men who have chosen to apprehend you."

She waved a hand at the men standing around Easton.

"So we have to fight them." Lina said, running a finger over the jewel of her left talisman. She narrowed her eyes and glanced over the hunters, several of whom returned her stare. Trial by combat certainly wasn't a foreign concept for her, the practice surviving in places like the Elmekian Empire even after the majority of the continent's kingdoms had abolished it.

"Well what're we waiting for then?" Luke interjected. "Let's challenge them already so we can kick their asses and get outta here!"

Luke's comment drew a round of sniggers from the hunters, quieting down when the old woman spoke up.

"Yes, it is a combat trial." The woman nodded, ignoring the outburst. "Once the challenge commences, we will transfer you separately to the battle site, where the each team must search for and eliminate the other, without losing all of your own members. Should you emerge from the challenge victorious, then all charges against you will be cleared."

Lina made a thoughtful noise, and looked around at her shipmates, finding a panel of mostly approving faces. Zelgadis in particular had a satisfied expression that suggested he was eager for revenge against the hunters for taking Amelia hostage.

For her part, Amelia did look a little worried, but she took heart from the apparent confidence of her crewmates and kept her expression resolute.

"What about any damages caused during the challenge? Are those going to be cleared too?" Lina asked. She was starting to understand why the court was being held inside a mountain, but even the weight of a mountain wouldn't be enough protection to spare the town from something like a Dragon Slave. It wouldn't do to come out of one trial and walk right into another.

"That will not be necessary." The old woman dismissed Lina's concern with a wave of a hand. "You will not do battle here, but rather, the challenge will take place in a separate world, one that exists alongside our own."

There was a short pause as Lina wrapped her mind around what she was hearing. "What, you mean like a subspace barrier?"

"Hmm, that seems to be an accurate description." The old woman nodded. "Within this other world, all interactions will be the same as they are here. Your abilities, possessions and bodily needs will all be transferred over, and you will do battle just as you would here."

"So you're saying that you can maintain a subspace barrier?" Lina pressed, incredulous. As far as she knew, even the greatest of human sorcerers had yet to manage such a feat. Mazoku could do it, and she'd experienced it a few times in her battles with them in the past, but even then it took one of not inconsiderable power.

"I will not be the one sustaining the challenge." The old woman explained. "Should you decide to challenge, Astropathy Mistress Singh will be the one to send you to the battle site, and she will be responsible for sustaining your essences within the barrier and maintaining the state of your bodies here. I and my fellow council members will act as witnesses."

She waved a hand at the young woman, who bowed her head again.

"Although truthfully." The old woman continued. "I had not anticipated that such knowledge existed elsewhere. Though our people have engaged in such combats for thousands of years to resolve our most serious disputes, we have yet to discover a way to maintain the projection away from this location."

She paused briefly to remove herself from her seat, strolling around the desks and stopping between the two groups. "Which brings us to our final rules. Three days maximum are permitted for the two teams to find and defeat the other, and if the combat has not been resolved by then, then the challenge will be considered invalid and all charges will return to the way they were. Upon entrance to the other world, the condition of your bodies will be recorded, and should you die in the illusion world, Mistress Singh can prevent your soul from leaving to the afterlife. In this way, all of the deceased members from winning team will have their bodies and minds restored and revived here in the real world. The losers' souls will be allowed to pass on into the afterlife."

Lina frowned slightly, glancing back at the scintillating crystal. It definitely made more sense if that was what was allowing them to do this, something that weakened planar boundaries and reinforced the stability of the barrier. She blanched as she fully recalled the memories that the crystal pillar had evoked. Memories of the Hellmaster.

"I don't like the way this is going." Zelgadis said, eyes narrowed in the old woman's direction. "Even if we win, how do we know you won't just trap us in this dimension? Or pull us out if we're winning and make us all start over."

"That is impossible." The old woman said, her face purpling with outrage at the mere suggestion. "The challenge process has long since been perfected. Once begun, it cannot be terminated until either end condition has been met."

"In addition, it is not up to us as witnesses to choose sides." She continued. "Should you defeat your opponents, then you will have proven your innocence in the eyes of the gods. It would not be just to continue prosecuting you further."

Zelgadis looked skeptical, but decided not to voice whatever he was going to say when Lina cut in.

"Alright, if this is the only way to get them off our backs, then it's do or die." Lina said. "I challenge."

"Your challenge will be issued against the six men standing before you." The old woman replied. "Do you have five other members?"

Lina registered four voices behind her expressing their approval, along with one from Amelia on the hunters' side. Curious, she shot a glance at Xellos, who was the only one to have remained silent.

"Sorry Lina, I'd really like to help but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out." Xellos raised his cuffed hands in a placating gesture. "I'm just not sure if this projection technique is going to work with me, you see."

Lina mumbled something under her breath about Xellos not being of any help earlier, then sighed and gave him a nod to convey that she'd understood.

"Very well." The old woman said, though she raised an eyebrow at Xellos's admission. "You may remain here while the challenge is resolved." She added before turning to address the hunters. "Mr. Easton, a challenge has been declared against yourself and your men. Do you-"

"We accept." Easton growled immediately, and the five others beside him mumbled their consent.

"Good, then you may remove the restraints from the six challengers." The old woman said. "And once that is complete, the contest will begin."

Easton hesitated for a moment, but moved to obey, first unlocking Amelia's cuffs with his key before proceeding on to the others.

"Step out of line before the challenge begins, and your friend is dead." He said, bringing his face close to Lina's as he released her restraints with a metallic click. As if in response, Jan smirked, pressing the barrel of his gun closer to Amelia's head. Lina grimaced, and fought down the urge to blast them right then and there. There'd be plenty of time for that once they were all inside.

"Now, gather around the central pillar in a circle." The old woman ordered once everyone except Xellos had been released. She turned, heading back to her seat as the two groups shuffled into their places.

"In the sight of men and gods, we gather to ascertain the guilt or innocence of these accused." The old woman began from atop her podium. "As the Chief Justice of the Council, I declare that this judgment shall be rendered through a trial by six. May justice be delivered by this challenge as is deserved."

"Mistress Singh, have you recorded everyone's identities and affiliations?" She asked.

"Yes." The younger woman replied, her voice soft and feather-light.

"Then you may begin the challenge."

The Mistress of Astropathy nodded, and Lina gasped as the ground seemed to fall away, the surrounding scenery blurring into a disorienting smudge of color. She could faintly hear the surprised reactions of the others beside her, moments before all light, sound and sensation ceased entirely.


	21. Chapter 21 - Not Goodbye

**Chapter 21: Not Goodbye**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina groaned, and realized from the slight prickling sensation in her legs that she was sitting on a patch of grass instead of standing in a cave. Her head was pounding and her vision was just starting to fade into focus, but she pulled herself to her feet and did a quick scan of the area.

They were in a forest, surrounded by trees with trunks thicker than they were tall and tops so high that they were barely visible from the ground. A carpet of ferns and small bushes grew along the ground, watered by the constant drip of moisture from above, condensed upon the needle-like leaves from the light fog that shrouded the treetops. It was starting to get dark, the setting sun sending rays of orange trawling through the canopy.

A couple of muttered complaints brought Lina back down to earth, and she noticed the others scattered around the small clearing that they were in. Luke and Milina were awake if somewhat disoriented, and Amelia sat on a protruding root, rubbing her eyes blearily. Gourry lay sprawled on the ground, seemingly unconscious, while Zelgadis was the only one who was fully alert and already moving to check their surroundings.

Lina made her way to Gourry, nudging him with a foot until his eyes snapped open and he scrambled to a sitting position with a cry of alarm.

"Whoa, calm down Gourry." Lina said, extending a hand to help him up. "It's alright, we're all here. This must be the inside of the barrier that the old lady was talking about."

Everyone gathered together at the center of the clearing, gazing at the scenery and checking themselves for anything missing. Gourry drew his sword and took a practice swing at a nearby branch, splitting the tree limb with the ease of familiarity.

"So? What now?" Luke asked. "We have to find those guys and eliminate them within three days right?"

"Don't be too eager." Zelgadis said. "I'm betting those bounty hunters operate regularly from this island, which means they've probably fought this challenge before. It's very likely that they'll know to keep moving and try to ambush us."

"Yeah, and it looks like night falls in here too." Lina said. "But if we go looking for them with a Light spell, we'll just end up revealing ourselves first."

"How about we find some shelter, and just go look for them tomorrow morning?" Amelia suggested.

Amelia's proposal garnered some murmurs of agreement, and Lina ordered her to take a peek over the treetops to see if she could find a more suitable locale before the last of the sunlight went away.

"Resting's a good idea, but I'd rather not have to camp out in this drippy wet forest if we can help it." Lina called up after her.

After about a minute in the air, Amelia returned to earth, reporting that she'd seen the boundary of the forest.

"It's really sudden actually." She added. "You'll see what I mean when we get there."

With that the crew set off in the indicated direction, navigating by moonlight once the last of the sunset glow had faded over the horizon. No one wanted to risk revealing their position by casting a light spell, and the full moon gave off just enough light to help them find their way, though tripping over roots and stepping into bushes were regular occurrences as they walked. Zelgadis took point, leading them through the forest with his enhanced senses, keeping himself ahead of the group to receive any frontal attacks. Curiously, Gourry fell back, taking up a position in the rear with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

They continued on for what Lina estimated to be an hour before reaching the edge of the forest, and Amelia hadn't been kidding about how sudden it was. The forest just ended, as if someone had clearcut everything beyond a certain line, down to the last bush and blade of grass. Beyond the line of trees, a desert stretched before them, rolling dunes glowing pale silver from the reflected moonlight.

"Well there's something." Lina pointed, drawing attention to a group of rock formations that towered over the sands. Maybe one of them would have a sheltered area where they could spend the night.

The crew proceeded across the desert, and a pang of hunger in the pit of her stomach reminded Lina that they hadn't had anything to eat since lunchtime. They'd landed on the island in the afternoon, and had been planning on finding a restaurant in town to have dinner at when they had gotten entangled in this whole challenge mess. Water they could just conjure, but three days without food would leave them wasted and listless. She glanced at Gourry, who she imagined was probably feeling similar, though his tense posture and alert eyes betrayed nothing of the sort.

"Wow Gourry, glad to see you're taking this so seriously." Lina said.

Gourry shrugged.

"Well, we are in kind of a war against those bounty hunters right?" He replied. "Us Gabrievs have always fought in wars, so we're good at them."

"Quiet." Zelgadis said, signaling for silence as they neared the cluster of outcrops.

They approached with weapons drawn and spells at the ready, but a quick search revealed no occupants, nor any sign that anybody had ever been there. Several of the formations had protrusions and hollows that would keep them dry in case it rained, with enough of these between them for everyone to lie down..

"I'll take first watch." Zelgadis suggested, leaning against the side of a boulder outside. "You guys get some sleep, and we'll switch off one by one."

"Fine." Lina replied, scooting to the back of a small cave. Maybe it was the lack of dinner, or some lingering nausea from the dimensional transfer, but Lina realized once she had arranged her cape into a makeshift comforter just how tired she really was. She was already halfway into the haze between awake and asleep when Gourry ducked in with her, and she made a mental note to check the forest for food tomorrow before sleep overcame her.

* * *

...

* * *

Creeping across the forest floor, the tracker Asad glanced around and snarled in frustration. He'd picked up the trail of their opponents - easy enough with all the broken bushes and trampled plants that they'd left behind - except that idiot Gambi who'd been following him just a minute ago had managed to get himself lost. Asad smirked at the thought that occurred to him then. Maybe when he reported back to the boss, he could put forth the suggestion that they kick the rookie off the team. One less share to dole out when they turned in the Sea Witch's bounty.

The trail lead to the edge of the forest, where a line of footprints was still barely visible on the surface of the sand beyond. It was obvious where the pirates were sheltering, which meant it was time to go get the others, and tally up another victory on day one.

Asad was starting to head back when he heard a rustling sound behind him. His eyes snapped wide and he spun around, drawing two of his throwing knives, blades slick with poison. His gaze fell upon a short, caped figure approaching, jeweled shoulder pads glimmering in the moonlight.

"Well well, it looks like somebody's up to no good." The red-haired girl said, her face twisted into a shark-like grin. "How about you and me have some fun while the night's still young."

Asad growled and hurled one of his knives, but the girl sidestepped with ease. She dashed forward, closing the distance, knocking the remaining weapon out of Asad's grip with a casual backhand slap. Her other fist struck him on the chin, snapping his head back and sending him stumbling. Asad growled and dug in his heels, rebounding off his back foot and lashing out with a kick to the girl's side.

"Perfect." She said, taking a step back and rubbing the struck area. Her grin widened. "No need for you to report back to the captain anymore."

* * *

...

* * *

Still leaning against a smooth rock face, Zelgadis pulled out his measurement tool, raising it to the sky and tracing out the angle of the moon's movement. By his reckoning, about three hours had passed since he'd taken up watch. He was inclined to let the others sleep a bit longer, partially because he didn't need as much rest, and partially because of the high-pitched chittering sound in his ears that had started up a few minutes ago. It actually seemed to be coming from the direction of the forest, but he wasn't entirely sure. Maybe just a side effect of the afternoon's transference.

Zelgadis was drawn from of his thoughts when he noticed Amelia approaching, having gotten up from her resting place beneath a raised stone arch.

"Mr. Zelgadis, I could take up watch if you wanted to rest." Amelia suggested.

"Don't worry about me, I think I'll be okay staying up a little longer." Zelgadis replied. Then, curious, he added, "By the way, are you hearing any of this noise? It's been bothering me for a while."

Amelia shrugged, and indicated with her hands that she didn't. Zelgadis nodded. Maybe it was just him then. He chuckled to himself when Amelia clambered onto the boulder he'd been leaning against, knocking over some loose stones that clattered to the ground. She reached the top, then seemed to slip and overbalance, and Zelgadis got up to catch her when she toppled over the side.

And his breath froze in his throat as she fell into his arms and his eyes flicked down, and noticed the dark red stain spreading rapidly across the front of her chest. He touched it with a hand, and and jerked away immediately, staring for a stunned moment at the warm, red liquid smeared over his palm.

"I'm okay… I'm okay." Amelia said with a shudder. She slid from his grip and tried to stand, only to collapse to the ground in a boneless heap.

"Amelia!" Zelgadis cried. In the tiny part of his mind not gripped with horror, he noticed the others had awoken, stirring from their resting places and starting to make their way toward him.

Moving quickly, Zelgadis crouched protectively over Amelia, calling up a Recovery spell and pressing his hands to the wound. Already her eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, and the spell only seemed to cause her face to grow paler. Still Zelgadis persisted, holding onto hope, concentrating harder on his magic as he begged and pleaded with her to stay with him.

Something struck Zelgadis's shoulder with a sharp crack, ricocheting, bouncing off a rock face, then coming to rest on the sandy ground. He wheeled around to look at it, ignoring the stinging pain, almost intending vent his fury on the projectile itself. It was a piece of metal, its head flattened by the force of impact, its surface steaming slightly from the heat of its propellant.

A sniper's bullet.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina was up immediately at the sound of Zelgadis's distress. She rushed out from her cave, dragging her cape behind her, glancing around their resting site the moment she cleared the entrance. Gourry was just inches behind her, sword half-drawn. Luke and Milina were up as well, looking dazed from the sudden awakening.

The first thing Lina saw was Zelgadis, crouched on the ground beside their lookout spot. Then she saw the blood pooling around his feet, and the soft glow of the Recovery spell that he was channeling, illuminating the fallen figure that he was bent over.

"Amelia!" Lina cried, kneeling down beside them with her own spell prepared. Then she laid eyes on the full scene and her next breath came out as a shuddering gasp. Though Zelgadis's spell had managed to stop the bleeding, there was a lot of blood already lost, and Amelia's face was ghastly pale. Her eyes were closed, she wasn't breathing, and she didn't move or stir when Zelgadis brushed a hand through her dark hair.

Lina stood up, scanning frantically for any sign of an assailant. Her eyes widened, and a sound halfway between a sob and a roar tore its way from her throat.

There were two figures approaching, sprinting across the sand from the forest edge, already more than halfway to them with having capitalized on their distraction. Lina recognized them from their weapons; Soto with the sword, and Asad wielding a pair of knives.

"Zel! Get Amelia away from here and take care of her!" Lina called. If there was any chance they could help her recover, they had to take it. The order seemed to snap Zelgadis from his funk, and he moved quickly, lifting Amelia up bridal-style and carrying her away.

Lina marched to the edge of the boulder field and raised her arms, bringing her talismans up to form the outline of a cross. The embedded gems pulsed red. She didn't what they had done to Amelia or who had done it, but these two were going to pay. She'd kill them, she'd kill all of them.

Something flew threw the air, and Lina cried out as it tore into her left arm, sending a bolt of white-hot pain coursing through her body. A bullet! The limb collapsed, going numb from the shock, and the red glow faded from her four talismans. Thinking fast, Lina ducked behind a boulder and started up a Recovery in her other hand, grimacing when the mental feedback told her that her bone had been shattered. It would take at least a minute or two to restore even minimal mobility, which she realized she didn't have when she looked up to see Soto nearly upon her, sword drawn, blade gleaming.

"Payback's gonna hurt!" The bounty hunter snarled, raising his weapon high.

Lina didn't have time to figure out what he meant before Gourry arrived between them, moving in a flash of yellow followed by a rush of wind. There was the clarion clang of steel on steel as his weapon clashed against Soto's, and within moments the two had already fought through several exchanges. Though Soto's weapon was heavier, Gourry deflected the man's swings away rather than meeting them head-on, and lines of red rose from the bounty hunter's exposed arms where he had been cut.

Asad darted in from the side, aiming to strike at Lina while her protector was occupied, but a curtain of flame shot up between them. He screeched to a halt and quickly backpedaled, eyes narrowed and glaring at Luke, who drew a pair of knives from his vest to match the tracker's weapons. Smirking, Asad lunged, driving Luke back with a flurry of swings. He was shockingly fast, way faster than Soto, and Lina briefly wondered why he wasn't the vice-captain. Forcing Luke aside, Asad hurled one of his weapons at Milina, scoring a grazing cut on her shoulder as she ducked away from the flight path.

"Van Rail." Milina segued her dodge into a spinning motion, ending the movement by planting her palm against the surface of the sand. Lines of ice crawled out from her fingertips, which Luke hopped over with practiced ease. Asad was not so prepared, managing to get one foot away from the spell, while tendrils of ice crawled over his other leg and fixed it to the ground. With a grunt of exertion he snapped the ice around his leg free from the surface, but was still weighed down and hobbled by the impediment.

Another bullet hurtled through the air, striking the ground next to Luke, causing him to jerk back reflexively before he could take advantage of his opponent's immobility. Lina made up for it with an Elmekia Lance from her good hand, striking Asad dead on. In the explosion of white that ensued, Lina thought she saw the tracker's silhouette shifting in shape, but the blast faded, revealing that it had just been a trick of the light.

"Let's get outta here!" Asad called to his partner through gritted teeth, stumbling and slurring slightly from the effects of the attack. "We'll finish these guys off another day!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Luke shot back, regaining his bearings. "You think you can say that and we'll just let you go?"

"Hey hey, I know you're pretty confident because you're feeling good and stuff." Asad replied, backing away. "But how about sparing some thought for your little girlfriend over there?"

"What?" Luke said in a hoarse voice, and turned around in a panic. Lina followed his gaze to Milina, who suddenly dropped to her knees where she stood.

"Poison. Right?" Milina managed, pressing a hand to her chest and gasping for breath.

"D-dammit! Hang in there Milina!" Luke cried as he rushed to Milina's side, hoisting her onto his back and casting a Raywing. Lina waved them over, pressing her good hand against Milina's side and casting a Dicleary. Even without knowing what type of poison it was, it was still worth a shot.

A pale blue light spread from her palm, enveloping Milina for a moment before dissipating. She didn't look any better, and beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead. Lina's blood froze, and she bit her lip, casting the spell again. Another pulse of blue, and still Milina didn't seem to recover.

"Lina we have to run! We can't fight with Milina like this!" Luke yelled, taking off into the air and heading in a direction parallel to the forest's edge. Lina let him go. She re-cast her Recovery to finish mending her broken arm, gritting her teeth as the broken bone re-knitted itself and pushed out the metal bullet. The throbbing pain subsided and she raised her arms, chanting the activation spell for her Demon's Blood Talismans. Her eyes widened when she realized that Gourry was still in the fray.

"Gourry get back!" She called to her protector, who had gotten the better of his opponent in their sword-duel. The bounty hunters' vice-captain was suffering from a myriad of cuts, bleeding heavily from a particularly deep gash on his right leg. But they still didn't know where the sniper was, or how he was even hitting them so accurately in the dark. An image of Gourry falling to the hunters flashed across Lina's mind, before she forced the picture from her thoughts. No, she would not allow that to happen.

Gourry drew away and disengaged, sheathing his sword and stopping behind her. The focus of battle faded from his face, and he sat himself down, closing his eyes. The two bounty hunters were moving as well, retreating as quickly as their injuries would allow them. The vice-captain was glancing around wildly, probably expecting further retaliation to come at any moment.

Orbs of fire ignited around Lina, swirling around her and releasing waves of light-distorting heat. She stepped out from cover, and thrust her hands forward in the direction of the two men.

"Blast Bomb!" Lina cried, sending the fireballs hurtling forward, the air roaring and shimmering as they flew past. A thousand explosions rippled across the desert, melting sand to glass and boiling it away, overturning trees and burning them to so much microscopic ash.

Lina realized from the sensation in her throat that she was screaming, even if she couldn't hear it over the cacophony of explosions. Nor did she want to hear it, the expression of her rage, her frustration, and her shame. She'd called herself captain during their introductions, but she hadn't been able to do anything to protect her friends, had she? And so she poured her reserves into her spell, blasting away until the night was made as day, stopping only when there was no doubt in her mind that nothing could have survived in the fiery crater that was left.

A yelp of surprise from behind her drew Lina back to the situation at hand. Had Gourry gotten hurt too? She spun around, and her eyes widened at the sight of Gourry on his knees, clutching his head with both hands.

"Gourry, what's wrong?!" She asked, her voice growing louder and more hysterical. Her body ached with the hungry, burning sensation of magical depletion, but she mustered up her willpower for another Recovery spell. No, no no, not Gourry too.

"Lina do you hear it?" He said through gritted teeth, pointing a trembling finger in the direction of the crater. "It's like, a voice or something coming from there."

Lina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She glanced back at the smoldering crater, but all she could hear was the crackling of flames and the rumbling echoes of the blasts she had unleashed.

"C'mon Gourry. Let's go find the others." She said quietly, offering a hand and helping him to his feet. Her hunger and fatigue suddenly snapped back to her, causing her to slump slightly, and it wasn't doing her magic capacity any favors either. They would have to walk.

* * *

...

* * *

The sky was still dark when they caught up to Zelgadis at the forest edge, where he had set Amelia down and seated himself nearby. Though his face was dry, he sat with his head bowed, his fists clenched and trembling. Further in, Milina lay within a clearing, with Luke kneeling beside her. Her breaths were shallow pants now, each one a spasm of pain. Luke moved to hold her in his arms, massaging her back and doing his best to make her comfortable. A soft breeze blew through the forest, causing the leaves overhead to rustle.

"Is there anything… that can be done for us?" Milina managed to gasp when Lina approached, her voice barely audible above a whisper. Lina closed her eyes and said nothing. When she opened them again, she turned and made her way back to Zelgadis, leaving Luke and Milina to have their moment. At the sound of a quiet sob, she glanced back, and saw Milina reach out with a hand to touch Luke's cheek.

Leaning slightly on Gourry for support, Lina found her thoughts drifting to the bounty hunters' tactics, the night's events playing over and over in her mind. The hunters weren't averse to splitting up and making probing attacks, but to do that required a certain willingness to sacrifice their members. Lina grimaced at the thought. The hunters didn't really seem to have any camaraderie with one another, beyond the minimum amount necessary to work together. But if they had undertaken the challenge before, then-

"They're not dead." Gourry finished the thought for her. Lina nodded. The sudden shock had caused them to forget this crucial detail about the nature of the challenge.

"It just seemed like that's what you were thinking about." Gourry added when Lina quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

Lina felt something within her settle into place, the fog of horror fading to a dull ache. She could save Amelia, she could save everyone.

Returning to the forest edge with Gourry in tow, Lina seated herself next to Amelia, opposite Zelgadis. Silence reigned for a few moments before Lina spoke up.

"Zel, we can get her back." She said.

Her words seemed to pass through Zelgadis like a jolt of electricity, and his eyes went wide as the revelation hit him. They were in a challenge, a contest, and by the rules of the contest the winners would be restored. No one would die unless everyone died, in which case there would be no after for any of them.

"Right." He replied, almost too low for her to hear. He sat a little straighter, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Wait for us Amelia." Lina said. "We'll bring you back, promise."

"Stay here." She ordered, pulling herself to her feet, taking a moment to pat the dirt off of her pants.

"I'm gonna go check up on Luke."

Lina returned to the clearing, where Milina lay quietly on the grass, looking for all the world like she was asleep. Luke wasn't there, and a moment of panic flashed through Lina's mind. Thoughts of the bounty hunters rose up, then subsided when she noticed the sound of footsteps in the bush.

"Luke!" Lina called. No response came, so she conjured a dim light and started after him, placing a hand on his shoulder once she'd caught up and turning him around.

"Don't try to stop me." Luke said. "I'll settle everything soon, so just stay away. I don't want you guys to see it."

"And what if you get killed?" Lina asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what!?" Luke shot back. "Nothing I do will bring Milina back, so why shouldn't I just-"

"It will." Lina cut him off. "Milina's not dead, but only if we win."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Luke yelled, his lips opening into a snarl. "Don't talk about Milina's death like it's some kind of…" He trailed off, his eyes wide and blinking rapidly.

"The rules of this challenge are that the winning team gets restored right?" Lina said. "That's what the deal was. We just can't make any more mistakes. So come on, let's go back and try to get some rest before morning."

Luke nodded, looking down with a shamefaced expression and mumbling a hasty apology. Lina turned to head back, and Luke fell in behind her. They walked past the clearing where Milina had been laid, and the two of them paused there so they could pay their respects.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye Milina." Luke said, his voice cracking. "But just for now. Not forever."

"Yeah." Lina added. "We'll get you back."


	22. Chapter 22 - Feet of Clay

**Chapter 22: Feet of Clay**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Gourry watched in silence as Lina shifted some soil aside with her magic, creating a pair of graves for Amelia and Milina at the forest edge. Zelgadis gently laid Amelia's body into her space, covering it with his blood-soaked cloak. Luke did the same for Milina, and after one last look, Lina moved the upturned earth back into place. No one spoke for a long time before Zelgadis broke the silence.

"We should probably keep watch in pairs." Zelgadis said, pointing a finger toward the depths of the forest. "We don't know when or if those men will attack again."

"Me and Luke can go first, if that's okay." Gourry replied. When Luke nodded, he added, "Lina why don't you sleep the rest of the night, since you're pretty tired."

Lina looked up and her half-lidded eyes snapped open. "What? Who's gonna do the other one then?"

"I'll go twice." Gourry replied.

No one wanted to return to the desert after the night's events, and they contemplated the dilemma of staying dry until Gourry hit upon an idea. Drawing his sword, Gourry sliced away a few sections from a pair of particularly thick trees, creating hollows where they could sleep without getting wet. Lina practically flopped down inside her spot, and after a few more moments of wariness, Zelgadis reluctantly settled into his. Gourry nodded to Luke, and the two of them moved to the other side of the two trees, where they could crouch down within a cluster of bushes.

After about an hour spent gazing into the woods, Gourry noticed Luke had produced a set of throwing knives and was slowly running his fingers over their blades. He also seemed to be mumbling something, though Gourry wasn't sure what.

"When we get to the next fight…" Luke said when he noticed Gourry staring. "When we get to the next fight, I'm gonna be ready."

They waited out the remainder of the shift in silence, and when another two hours had passed, Luke circled back to switch off with Zelgadis. From the sudden scuffing noise Gourry heard, it seemed Zelgadis hadn't had a particularly restful sleep.

Still shaking his head, Zelgadis arrived and joined Gourry in their hiding spot. Despite his usual stoic demeanor, he was anxious and fidgety, looking almost as if he wanted to go off on his own. Gourry tried to occupy him by engaging him in conversation, but neither of them were really big talkers, and eventually Zelgadis managed to calm his nerves by counting off the remaining minutes. A heavy fog rolled over the treetops, blurring the pale disk of the moon overhead, and persisting even when the sun began to rise.

"We should get moving." Zelgadis muttered quietly. Gourry glanced back, half wanting to let the others sleep a little longer, but nodded in agreement. They needed to find food, and it was too dangerous to split up or leave their friends behind.

They walked back around the trunk of their hollowed out tree, where Zelgadis shook Luke awake. He stood back when Luke woke with a start, grasping for his weapons that he had been preparing before. Gourry was surprised to see that Lina was already up, sitting up on the edge of her carved out section, a contemplative expression on her face.

"There's four of them left." Lina said. "And four of us."

Once everyone had cleared their heads, the crew set off in search of food. The fog remained thick, but visibility was still better than it had been at night. Though they kept their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of animal life, the forest was silent, which along with the weather made their trek through it slightly unnerving. Several of the bushes had bunches of berries of various colors, and Zelgadis volunteered himself to test them for poison. None seemed to be particularly distasteful, but out of an abundance of caution, Lina collected them up and boiled them in a hollow stump that she'd filled with conjured water. Thus satisfied, the four of them sat down to their bland but somewhat filling meal.

The dull roar of a distant explosion set Gourry's heart pounding. He leapt to his feet, fingers clasped around the hilt of his sword. Lina ducked down behind the stump, hands raised in a casting position. Zelgadis had his pistols drawn, both weapons glowing red and humming softly. Luke's fingers were at his belt, reaching for his knives.

The echoes of the blast faded, and all was silent again, save for their rapid breathing which gradually returned to normal. Looking up, Gourry could see the faint outline of a column of smoke rising over the treetops.

"Let's end this." Luke suddenly declared. He straightened himself up, and started walking in the direction of the explosion.

"Wait Luke!" Lina called after him. "Instead of rushing in, let's think about this for a minute."

"What is there to think about?" Luke stopped and turned. "Their leader uses a cannon doesn't he? Maybe he had an accident or something. If we don't catch them while they're off guard now, then we'll be throwing this chance away."

"It could be a trap." Zelgadis suggested. Gourry had to privately agree. His gut was telling him that something wasn't right about this.

"It could be, or it could be a real chance." Luke argued back. "Plus this time we'll be on the attack, and we have this fog covering for us while we know where they are. How are we going to get anyone back if we just sit here and wait for them to hit us?"

Zelgadis's expression remained neutral, and he said nothing in response. Gourry turned his head and sent Lina an expectant look.

"Alright." Lina broke the silence. "But we'd better stay on the ground where we have this fog. Don't want the sniper picking us off from far away."

She clasped her hands together. "Let's go get'em boys."

They set off at a brisk jog, making sure to avoid stepping on any twigs or plants whose sound would give them away. The smoke faded beyond view, but Zelgadis gave them an estimate of the distance, and they slowed down the pace as they got closer. The forest began to thin, the distance between the trees gradually growing longer.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Zelgadis whispered, signaling with his hand for them to stop. "It's that sound I heard last night before they attacked."

"I don't hear anything." Gourry offered. He looked around at Lina and Luke, and it didn't seem like they'd heard anything either.

Then Gourry froze, images of death flashing through his mind. He saw a bullet strike Luke in the chest, saw the blood gushing out, saw him crumpling to the ground, dying. His limbs responded automatically, sending him hurtling forward, shoving Luke to the ground with all his strength. A searing pain exploded from his left side, and he cried out as the sniper's bullet burrowed into his ribs with a sharp, wet crack.

* * *

...

* * *

Luke hit the ground hard and and rolled to a crouch, cursing under his breath. An attacker? He looked up, fingers reaching for his weapons, and froze. He could see the way Gourry was holding his side, the blood dripping through the gaps between his fingers.

Luke's heart plummeted into his stomach. It was an ambush. He'd fallen for it. His fault.

Lina rushed to Gourry's side, slowing the bleeding with a quick dose of healing, while Zelgadis moved in front to shield them with his body. A noxious cackle filtered through the fog ahead, followed by the sound of pounding footsteps. Three figures emerged from the mist, the broad and muscular form of the leader, flanked by the tracker and a beak-masked man that Luke recalled was Dirk, the team's doctor.

"W-what?!" Lina yelled, pointing a finger at Asad. "But I killed him!"

"Did you make sure to check for a body?" The tracker said with a grin. He seemed to have lost his knives though, so he raised his fists, advancing cautiously on Gourry. Dirk scurried behind him, producing a long and thin needle that he used to prick his own neck, causing his wrinkled skin to flush red and his veins to bulge.

Asad lunged, engaging Gourry in a running back-and-forth dance, attempting to find openings in the latter's guard even as he was kept at bay by the threat of Gourry's sword. Lina stayed with them, sending Gourry pulses of healing when the movement seemed to exacerbate his injury, flinging arrows of flame at the tracker whenever the distance between them grew. Easton took the chance to engage Zelgadis, defending himself from the latter's sword blows with a metal buckler, using his free hand to reload his shoulder-mounted cannon after firing a burst.

There was a surprised yelp from Gourry, and one of his arms fell limp at his side. Gourry had focused his swordplay on defending against Asad, leaving openings where Dirk would dart in, attempting to jab at the swordsman with his tools. Lina was quick to heal him and restore functionality to his arm, but it left a momentary gap which Asad exploited to land a swift kick on Gourry's wound, sending him stumbling back and wincing in pain.

Luke knew he had to put a halt to that. If Lina was forced to keep healing, then Gourry would get worn down, leaving Lina exposed against two opponents. Luke drew one of his knives, and threw it on a path that would take it between the two hunters.

As predicted, both men ducked away, their expressions registering surprise when a burst of wind erupted from the blade. Asad merely stumbled, but Dirk had been closer and he was also a lot thinner. He was sent flying through the air, landing hard on the ground a few trees away from his partner.

Luke grimaced. Imbuing weapons with minor spells wasn't something he liked doing, since he'd learned that trick when he was still working in the underworld. Milina had taken him away from that life, but now Milina was- not dead, but still not with him.

Luke threw another knife, and Dirk rolled away to avoid it, then cried out in surprise when the weapon stabbed the ground and released a cloud of dense black fog. This was nothing like the forest's fog; as long as he was inside, Dirk would be lucky if he could see his own stupid beak mask in front of his face. Luke raised his hands, manipulating the air to amplify all sounds within the shrouded area. He could hear the doctor's rapid staccato breaths, could hear him stumbling to his feet and fumbling around blindly as if it were coming from right beside him. Playing it by ear, Luke hurled a third knife into the fog, and the sound of Dirk's body hitting the ground was startlingly loud.

An agonized shriek drew Luke's attention to the battle at large, and he noticed Easton backing away from Zelgadis. The man's buckler had been split clean in half, and the hand that was holding it was now missing two fingers. He scrambled back from Zelgadis, whose sword pulsed with the red aura of his Astral Vine.

Instead of finishing off his opponent, Zelgadis moved to assist Gourry, driving Asad back with swipes of his sword. Luke started toward them as well, and the confidence on the bounty hunters' faces was replaced by a clear streak of fear.

"Luke, a Flare Seal!" Lina ordered. This time Luke was quick to comply, beginning the spell's long incantation as Lina held up her talismans and began her own spell.

Easton's cannon barked, but Zelgadis replied with a Flare Arrow, detonating the projectile in midair in a flash of fire and smoke. Now the leader looked downright panicked; he could see the flames building up around Lina, orange tendrils intensifying until they were glowing stark white. He could see the pale blue barrier that had sprung up around Luke, which he interpreted to mean that this wasn't just a bluff. Their sniper had survived the first night, so he must have reported back what would happen to them if they got hit.

"Jan! Get me outta here!" Easton practically screamed.

A large, dark shape swooped down from the treetops, snatching up Easton by his shoulders and flapping away. Luke blinked, and took a moment to register what he was seeing.

It was a humanoid bat, with clawed hands, pointed ears and a pair of leathery wings jutting from its back. But the coat and boots, the wide-brimmed hat, and the rifle strapped to its back left no question that this creature was the bounty hunters' sniper. Asad called after them, and the sniper glanced back, but his leader ordered him to keep going and leave the others. They vanished into the fog as Gourry finally collapsed, and Zelgadis moved to support him. Sparing a glance, Lina finished speaking the incantation of her spell, and every tree within view ignited simultaneously.

"Blast Bomb!" Lina cried for the second time in this disgusting game, and the swirling firestorm swept out at her command. Trees were devoured, mist became searing vapor, and boulders melted and ran like wax. When the flames finally receded, they left behind a smoldering hellscape, the air choked with drifting, glowing cinders.

* * *

...

* * *

"Three left." Zelgadis said.

They had returned to their campsite following Lina's casting of the Blast Bomb, whose rising heat and smoke had mushroomed into a pyrocumulus cloud that had drenched the battlefield in rain before the flames could spread further. Zelgadis counted it as a victory, though Luke was not as certain.

"S-sorry." He mumbled to Lina, who was tending to Gourry in one of their hollowed-out trees. Though she had been able to heal his gunshot wound, the process left him listless and too exhausted to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time.

"It's alright." Lina replied, laying a handkerchief dipped in warm water over Gourry's forehead. "It did turn out to be an ambush, but I'd still call it a net win for us. And you took down their doctor, so you helped us get our friends back."

Luke nodded, a bit more reassured, though he still tended to avert his eyes from where Gourry was laid. Noting this, Lina ordered the two of them to go gather some more food to distract him from his worries, leaving herself to keep watch over their makeshift camp. While the resultant meal didn't taste any better - and in fact Zelgadis was starting to get tired of eating berries - they ate in somewhat higher spirits, secure in the knowledge that they were pulling ahead in the challenge. The fog drifted away and the sun began to set, and that was when Zelgadis stood up.

"I'm going to deal with their sniper." He said, drawing wide-eyed looks from Lina and Luke.

"Alone?" Luke looked up from where he was sitting. Zelgadis nodded.

"But what if you get lost?" Lina frowned. "And three of those guys are still out there. Just wait, we'll bring Gourry with us and come with you and finish them all off at once."

"I'll leave marks on the trees so I can find my way back." Zelgadis replied. "And aside from the captain, it's just their rookie right? Are you sure you hit the tracker the first time?"

Lina's gaze meandered around as she considered the possibility that she could have missed. None of them had been in a good state of mind at the time.

"Look." Zelgadis crouched down to bring himself to eye level with his shipmates. "You all saw what that man's ability was. He can turn into a bat, that's how he can shoot at us even when he can't see."

He pointed at his own ear. "But I can hear him, and his weapon doesn't have much effect on me. You guys are the ones in danger, like what happened with Gourry."

Lina frowned at the mention of Gourry's injury, but it was a point that had to be stated. She sighed and nodded, reluctant but unable to argue against the case he had built.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone, since I'm going to be looking for him, and I don't know if he's going to be with the others." Zelgadis stood back up. "If I'm still not here when you want to attack, just do what you need to do without me."

"Stay safe Zel." Lina said.

* * *

...

* * *

After jogging for a few tens of minutes, marking every other tree he passed with the edge of his sword, Zelgadis slowed down his pace. Now he bent down, brushing his hands through bushes, pretending to search them for food. He was still making decent speed, but he wanted the sniper to think he was alone and off-guard. An easy mark to even the odds since they were now behind.

The rhythmic chittering began, and still Zelgadis kept up his act, while gradually moving toward the location of the source. The sniper didn't know, and Zelgadis was not going to reveal his intentions any earlier than necessary. Not before the first shot.

A sharp crack echoed through the forest, and a bullet struck Zelgadis's chest, throwing up sparks and rocking him back slightly. It hurt a little, but he quickly quashed that thought, exploding into motion with a Raywing on his lips. Like the hunting technique of a great cat, whose prey had noticed its approach, and now its life and death would be decided by mere moments in the final sprint.

Zelgadis raced forward, the forest blending into a horizontal blur around him. He didn't bother to swerve when a second bullet pierced through the spell's windy barrier, deflecting slightly to his shoulder instead of striking him on the head. A third bullet hit the ground, hastily aimed. Now he could hear the sniper calling out, a note of panic evident in his voice.

"Gambi, keep him away until I can get another shot!" Jan shouted. Obviously he wasn't used to people shrugging off his bullets. And it seemed the rookie who they hadn't seen either hide or hair of was here. Not that it mattered, Zelgadis wasn't going to be stopped by that little man.

"Gambi you bastard!" Jan screamed, his voice shrill and growing louder from the proximity. "You go missing all of the first day, and now you're running out on us! When we get out of this, the boss is gonna have your hide!"

"You don't need to worry about that." Zelgadis said. He was close, close enough to see the sniper's outline perched up in a tree, close enough to see the glint of moonlight reflecting off the man's glasses.

"I predict none of you are going to make it out of here alive."

"Shit!" Jan cursed, leathery wings extending from his back. "What the hell are you?!"

He leapt up through the canopy, flapping frantically for altitude, then froze when he noticed Zelgadis rising up with him.

"Not what. Who." Zelgadis said, throwing his hands forward.

Jan twitched with terror and he opened his mouth to scream, but only a rasping hiss came out as his body was enveloped in a column of blue. His glasses fell away and Zelgadis could see his eyes rolling back into their sockets. His bat wings quivered and retracted into his back, and he plummeted through the trees, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Zelgadis touched down beside him, placing a finger to the neck of the motionless body. A weak pulse, growing rapidly fainter.

Zelgadis stood back up, keeping his senses peeled for any sign of the rookie. If he could just take him out too, then they could close this trial out all the faster.

Zelgadis turned at the sound of rustling footsteps, and was surprised to see Lina approaching.

"Hey Lina, I told you not to foll-" He stopped. That wasn't Lina. It looked like Lina, was dressed like Lina, but its expression was twisted into a sadistic leer that did not belong on Lina's face.

"Oh, you're pretty quick on the uptake." _'Lina'_ said.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Just what is going on here?

On a different note, each of the bounty hunters is named after a real life historical pirate.

**Easton** \- Peter Easton, 17th century, operated along the Newfoundland coastline.  
**Soto** \- Benito de Soto, 19th century, operated in the Atlantic.  
**Jan** \- Jan de Bouff, 17th century, renegade privateer who operated around Western Europe.  
**Dirk** \- Dirk Chivers, late 17th century, active around the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.  
**Asad** \- Asad Abdulahi, late 20th century Somali pirate, captured ships along Africa's western coastline.  
**Gambi** \- Vincent Gambi, 19th century, operated in the Gulf of Mexico.


	23. Chapter 23 - Cause and Effect

**Chapter 23: Cause and Effect**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

Lina blinked herself awake when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and found herself staring into Gourry's face. He'd slept soundly since they had dinner, and she was a little surprised to see him up now. It was still early in the night, and they were still into the first guard shift with Luke on post.

"If it's about Zelgadis, he went out to look for their sniper." Lina yawned and rolled herself to a sitting position. She noticed Luke coming back around from their guard position in the bushes, having heard them talking.

"That's just it Lina." Gourry said, his face furrowed with concern. "I think something happened to Zelgadis."

Lina paled but tried to look confident. She searched the skies for any hint of battle, like smoke or fire. Nothing.

"Well he did say he was going to go looking for their sniper." She pointed out. "So it could take him a while to get back."

She paused. "What makes you think he's in trouble?"

Gourry frowned. "I don't know, I just felt something."

Lina grimaced. That was the one answer she didn't want to hear. If he had said anything else, anything at all, she might have considered it to be unfounded worry.

But there was definitely something strange going on with Gourry. She recalled how he'd claimed to have heard a voice during the first night's battle, and how he'd pushed Luke out of the way of a bullet that not one of them saw coming.

"Alright." She stood up, waving Luke over. "Let's go find him."

They started off in the direction that they had seen Zelgadis take, and quickly found the first tree mark that he had left. Following the trail became fairly simple after that, since each such divot pointed toward the location of the next. Gourry was still exhausted, so Lina and Luke each supported an arm to help him walk.

They had walked for nearly two hours when Gourry noticed a shiny object on the ground. Lina bent over to pick it up, rolling it between her hands. A metal bullet, its head flattened from impact with something hard. It was cool to the touch. There were no more markings either, though it wasn't long before they found a second bullet lying atop some leaves to give them some direction.

Lina felt a sick, twisting feeling in her gut. Zelgadis had fought the sniper, but he hadn't met them on the way back. They picked up the pace, and Lina hoped that Zelgadis had just been caught up pursuing his target. She looked up from her inspection of the bullet, noticing a gap in the trees ahead.

It wasn't a gap.

Pushing forward, Lina found herself walking into a battle site. Gaping fissures criss-crossed the earth, and clusters of stone spikes stabbed up from the ground. Dozens of the great trees had been felled, uprooted and rent apart as if by some tremendous physical force. She scanned the area, and her eyes widened when she noticed the blue-skinned form lying motionless under a tree trunk.

"Zel!" Lina rushed forward before she even knew what she was doing, kneeling down beside his motionless body. She couldn't feel for a pulse on his stony skin, but a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and she was pretty sure - chimera or not - that heads were not supposed to turn that way. His eyes were glazed over, staring blankly, unfocused.

As Luke helped Gourry over to her, Lina noticed the other body lying out in the open. There was no mistake from the clothing it wore, it was the bounty hunters's sniper. There didn't seem to be any obvious wounds on the body, but its face was clammy, and it wasn't breathing. Astral side damage perhaps.

"Lina… should we take him back. With the others?" Luke said in a small voice.

Lina paused then shook her head. They were having enough trouble helping Gourry around as it was. Better to say their goodbyes to Zelgadis here, and put an end to the challenge as soon as possible. He would understand. Plus now, there was a new sense of urgency.

"There is definitely something very wrong here." Lina stood up, fists clenched and trembling slightly.

"Look at this!" She waved a hand at the scene of destruction before them. "None of them could've done this. You saw what happened during the ambush. Zel had their stupid leader on the ropes. Something odd is happening and no matter what it is, we're going to find out when we end this."

No one spoke for a moment until Lina crouched down beside Zelgadis and pressed a hand against the ground.

"Thanks for helping us Zel." Lina said, marshaling the earth to move the tree off and dig out a grave just large enough to fit him.

"You took out one of them, the most dangerous one for us. You avenged Amelia." She stood back up. Moving Gourry to a tree that he could lean on, Luke arrived to help her lift Zelgadis's body into his space, which Lina covered up with the upturned dirt.

"Just a few more hours Zel, and we'll have you and everyone back."

* * *

...

* * *

"We can fly now." Lina said. It was the next morning at their campsite, and the sun was starting to rise. Lina tried to remember what that old woman had said about the challenge's time limit. Her declaration of challenge seemed like such a long time ago. Three days was the limit, but they didn't need it. Lina resolved make sure that this day was the final one.

"We still have to find them." Luke said, chewing on a handful of boiled berries. "We should probably split up, or take turns or something. Then if one of us sees them, we can use the Light spell to-"

"I know where they are." Gourry interrupted, seating himself next to them. He pointed with a finger in a direction they hadn't gone before.

"There's two voices there that aren't ours. Not moving." He said, eyes narrowed.

Luke looked skeptical, but Lina knew better than to argue. Any lead was better than no lead, and Gourry had been right on the money regarding the events of the previous night.

Lina looked at Gourry, studying his intense expression. Ever since they'd gotten here, Gourry acted like he was in battle all the time, which she supposed was fitting since the challenge was one long deathmatch. At the same time, it was a little saddening. She wanted the normal Gourry back, missed his cheerfulness, and even his absentminded exuberance. Lina supposed that was another reason to end the game quickly.

But they still had a little time before it was ideal to go searching, and now was as good a time as any to sate her curiosity.

"Hey Gourry, do you remember Dozle, and the CP-0 agent?" She asked. At his blank stare, she clarified, "I mean the mammoth guy you told me about, and the masked guy who wasn't really masked, who turned things he picked up into weapons."

"Yeah? What about them?" Gourry replied.

"When you're telling us about the voices you hear, are you..." She motioned with her hand, trying to work out a way to describe it. "Doing something like them?"

Gourry got the message and looked down, a rare thoughtful expression on his face.

"I... I guess it could be used that way." He said.

Lina made a noise of acknowledgement as she glanced at the sun, which had risen fully over the horizon. She stood up. It was time to put an end to the contest.

"Us two will go." She motioned to Luke. "Gourry you stay here. And stay hidden just in case."

"What? But-" Gourry tried to protest, but Lina stepped over, giving him a weak shove that nonetheless caused him to stumble.

"See? You're not all better yet from what that sniper did to you. You can barely hold your sword right." Lina said. She noticed Luke looking a little guilty at that.

"It's two against two, and we've got the advantages. We'll beat them really fast, get out of this barrier, and get our friends back. Then we'll leave and we'll never come back to this island again."

Lina paused, then placed a hand on Gourry's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked him in the eye. "Sorry Gourry, I know you want to help, but it's just… I don't want to see you in danger when you're like this, even if it's fake."

"Alright." He nodded. "If you say so Lina."

* * *

...

* * *

They took off in the direction that Gourry had indicated, keeping just above the treetops so as to not be spotted, ascending periodically to take stock of the terrain. The ground began to slope upward, and a number of small streams could be seen criss-crossing between the trees, which grew shorter and thinner as they continued on.

The trees ended abruptly, giving way to a flat, rocky plain. One formation in particular drew Lina's eye, an outcrop that blurred the line between hill and small mountain. Drifting closer to investigate, Lina could see a large cave dug into one side, overlooking the forest in its entirety. And standing at the entrance, Easton and Gambi stared back at them, the captain's face a mixture of fury and shock. Gambi was still acting nervous, though there was an eager glint in his eyes that told a different tale.

Working fast, Easton loaded a round into his cannon and fired it up at Lina. Luke countered with a conjured gale, hurling the projectile away to detonate uselessly on the ground. A second shot met the same fate, and by then, Lina was ready.

"Burst Flare!" She cried, sending a ball of blue flame burrowing into the mountainside, engulfing both men and blasting apart the cave. She held her breath as the debris slid down the slope, coming to a halt at the base of the mountain.

"Is it over?" Luke asked, staring down at the smoldering rubble. Then the rubble shifted, and a small hand reached out.

Pulling himself free, Gambi dusted himself off, all pretense of anxiety gone and replaced by a swaggering confidence. He didn't even look that much worse for the wear; a little dirty and bruised, but barely burned at all despite being hit by a spell that would've melted a golem.

Lina didn't hesitate. She released an Elmekia Lance, which Gambi avoided with ease, and a blast of wind from Luke was met with the same result. The man was fast, too fast to hit with point attacks.

"Arc Brass!" Lina cried, and the air rumbled in response, unleashing a sheeting torrent of lightning that poured down on their opponent. Gambi tried to get away, but the spell's area was too wide, the jagged bolts arcing down too quickly. The attack connected solidly, tearing up the earth and throwing the small man to the ground. He stumbled to his feet as a dagger flew down, stabbing his shadow and pinning him in place.

"Now it's over." Luke said, brandishing a scarlet blade of energy between his two hands. He angled his flight spell down and thrust his spell ahead, aiming to impale their immobilized opponent on its glowing tip.

Then he stopped, and watching from above, Lina could only manage to stare in wide-eyed shock.

* * *

...

* * *

"W-what?!" Luke sputtered. He dropped to the ground, and his concentration lapsed, causing his spell to fizz and fade away in his hands.

For the person standing before him was no longer Gambi or any of the bounty hunters, but Milina, just as she had been before she'd died. She glanced at him innocently, then a twisted smile stretched across her face as the Shadow Snap weakened, and she found herself able to move again.

"Van Rail." She hissed, planting a hand against the ground. Tendrils of ice slithered from her palm, seizing Luke's legs and spreading to his arms, until all but his chest and head were completely encased. Then her appearance changed again, leather shoulder pads replaced by a colorful coat, long silver hair giving way to a pointed green cap with orange goggle-lenses.

"It's you!" Luke exclaimed.

"Ah yes, me, me, me." Chameleone replied. "You know of all the ways that a trial could've turned out, I can't say I expected to end up in something like this."

"You said you were a collector!" Luke roared.

"Did I?" Chameleone stroked his chin with a finger. "Well I was telling the truth about that."

Then with a twinkle in his eye, he added, "Do you wanna see my collection?"

Grabbing the edges of his coat, Chameleone pulled them apart, baring its inner surface for Luke to see. Luke's eyes widened. Painted on the inside of his coat were dozens of pirate symbols, some layered over others where there was no room. Each one was stylized, unique, and Luke grasped the implications. These were the crews that Chameleone had destroyed, leaving only their symbols which he collected like a devil collecting souls.

Luke's gaze was drawn to a flash of light from above as Lina swooped down, releasing a volley of flaming spears. Chameleone made no effort to dodge, but his appearance was shifting, transforming into a shirtless young man with a tasseled orange hat.

"Lina Inverse. I can say with confidence that they didn't undersell your bounty." He said as the projectiles flew through his body, leaving fire-filled holes that sealed themselves without injury. Orange flames flowed down the length of his arm, gathering and condensing around his clenched fist.

"Fire Fist!" He punched out with his hand, sending a column of flame roaring up at Lina. She managed to swerve at the last moment, but couldn't avoid the attack completely. Hungry flames washed over her Raywing barrier, and Luke could only stare helplessly as she plummeted to the ground.

Still Lina wasn't out. Rolling with her landing and stopping in a crouch, she thrust out her hands and flung a chunk of conjured ice at Chameleone.

But the man's body was already changing, expanding into a hulking, broad-chested form. A layer of glittering crystal spread across his arm with a series of muted cracks, which he used to shatter the icy missile with almost contemptuous ease.

"Brilliant Punk!" He rushed forward, swinging his crystalline forearm, sending Lina flying with a bone-jarring slam. She crashed into a boulder, toppling it over, then fell to the ground and rolled onto her stomach. Luke gritted his teeth and struggled against his prison when he saw the telltale glow of a Recovery spell around Lina's hand, but the icy coldness sapped his strength and his restraints did not budge.

"So I was a little disappointed at first when you said you didn't have a flag." Chameleone began, his body shrinking down until he was wearing Lina's form.

"But when I thought about it, an ear or a bit of hair should be just as good, right?" He finished in Lina's voice, a fireball burning in the palm of a hand. He sighed theatrically.

"My compliments for a good game." He said. "Haven't had this much fun in years."

His hand whipped forward, and his fireball collided with Lina, the blast sending her sailing through the air. She hit the ground again, and did not move.

Luke's mind raced. He recalled their initial rescue of the man from the pirate ship, when Lina had accidentally hit him with a fireball. Then, did that mean he could only copy attacks that he had taken? But Milina had only used Van Rail on the tracker, who had poisoned her in that same fight. Which was Chameleone all along.

_He was the one who had killed Milina._

Luke roared, calling up a Flare Arrow despite his restraints. Unable to fly, the spell detonated in his hand, breaking his icy prison in a burst of vapor and a shower of glittering shards. Ignoring the state of his ruined hand and clenching his teeth to avoid screaming from the pain, Luke willed his frostbitten legs to move. With his remaining hand he drew one of his daggers, aiming to jam it into Chameleone's neck.

"As last efforts go, I guess this is worth something for effort." Chameleone said, reverting to his normal form. His fist came around and slammed into Luke's chin, knocking him down onto his back. Before he could get up, the man was on him, and Luke felt his knees seem to light on fire as Chameleone crushed them with an audible snap. He screamed as the man did the same for his elbows, leaving Luke's arms flopping uselessly on the ground.

"You killed her! You killed Milina!" Luke managed to rasp, struggling futilely against his opponent. Chameleone laughed, a high pitched giggle that grated on the ear.

"Me?" He pointed to himself. "But I only took her out of the game. She'll only die when this little farce of a trial comes to an end. Then it won't be me that kills her, will it?"

"You're a cheater!" Luke growled. "This isn't what the trial was supposed to be! When we get outta here-"

"You'll what?" Chameleone sneered. "No, don't tell me. You actually bought that little old lady's story about the winners coming back to life? You think a bunch of justice freaks care about the lives of us pirates? Face it, your little girlfriend isn't coming back, and neither are the rest of them. They'll have to let me out eventually, but don't think you're about to get a package deal."

"They will!" Luke yelled back. "They promised!"

Chameleone snorted. "Use your brain for a second kid, and you'll see it's pretty obvious that this is just what they cook up when the trial looks like it could get violent. You know, kill off a few of you in this freaky little dimension, and it'll be easier for those bounty hunter guys to off the rest of you later. Everyone wins, I mean other than you. And you suckers took the bait, hook, line and sinker.

Luke shook his head. No, it couldn't be.

Chameleone sighed dramatically. "This is always the result of pirates turning to the law when the chips are down. Oh how terrible. The law is for the benefit of the guys in power, not for guys like you and me."

No no no nonono_no_.

"You know your group could've gone far." Chameleone shrugged. "But in the end, it was your own damn fault that you were such trusting idiots."

Chameleone leaned down, bringing his face close to Luke's. "In this world, only the strong survive, and the only one you can trust is yourself."

Luke listened mutely, his expression frozen, but inwardly he wanted to scream. His friends were dead, Milina wasn't coming back, it wasn't fair, and _why couldn't he do something?_

In the eye of his mind, Luke saw himself staring into his abyss, the wellspring of his soul.

And something within it stirred, and stared back at him.

* * *

...

* * *

Gourry stood up and gripped the hilt of his sword, clutching his head with his other hand. There was a new presence with them, growing in intensity. Thus far he'd been likening what he heard to voices. Well if they were voices, then this was like a horrible screeching howl that clawed at the inside of his skull.

He started walking, then forced his legs to move, quickening his pace to a run. Lina needed him.

* * *

...

* * *

Lina woke with a gasp. She was lying face down, and the stabbing pain in her chest probably indicated that some of her ribs had been broken. There was also a burning pain coming from all over, from when that shape-shifting bastard had hit her with her own fireball. He was probably the one who had set off the explosion in the marketplace too. Lina mumbled the incantation of a Recovery spell as she forced her head up, seeking answers to what was happening. Then she saw the full scene, and the moment of comprehension stretched for what felt like an eternity.

Luke stood, facing Chameleone, his body cloaked in an aura of red shadow. His pupils were crimson orbs, like dying suns staining the land with their infernal radiance. Chameleone's arrogance was gone, and he staggered back, clutching a blackened stump where his hand once was. The crimson aura slashed out, severing his other hand, then slicing off a leg and sending Chameleone tumbling to the ground. A burst of red light erupted from Luke, engulfing Chameleone entirely, disintegrating his body to smoldering cinders.

A fell wind whipped up, stinging Lina's face and causing her eyes to water. The grass withered where it passed, leaves burned, and branches warped into twisted taloned shapes. The wind blew through Chameleone's remains and hurled them into the sky, which was shuddering at the otherworldly incursion, shattering like a pane of glass split by a canvas of crimson fissures. A roiling vista of racing, bloodshot storm clouds spilled from the cracks, revolving around a great central eye.


	24. Chapter 24 - Something to Live for

**Chapter 24: Something to Live for**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

**...**

* * *

Lina pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the fading pain in her chest, her eyes fixed on the figure standing before her. Malevolent energies poured from him in roaring waves, causing the very stones to rattle and writhe. Twisting storm clouds choked the skies, staining the surrounding landscape with an eerie crimson hue.

"Luke?" Lina said, reaching out with a hand, which trembled in rhythm with her pounding heartbeat.

"Luke… what... why this?" Her voice creaked. "What on earth?"

"I guess this is how it is huh?" Luke turned and spoke in his usual tone, the red glow of his pupils fading until he was just as he'd always been.

"Looks like there was another being inside of me." He said, taking a deep breath. "Funny what you don't notice until it happens."

"But what about your eyes?" Lina asked. Her limbs felt weak and her head spun, as if this moment she was experiencing couldn't have been real.

"You aren't blind. So what- how did this happen?"

"Oh, my eyes?" Luke replied, gesturing toward them with two fingers. "That's just a misunderstanding, probably from the name Ruby Eye. For Rezo, the fragment wasn't actually sealed in his eyes."

He shook his head. "No, Ruby Eye lives in the hearts of men, and swallowing the philosopher's stone that time was enough to magnify the fragment's power and release it."

Lina's eyes widened. She'd told Luke and Milina about their encounter with Rezo, but she hadn't gone into this much detail. There was no way Luke could've known about the stone, not unless the seven fragments had a shared consciousness. Which meant he really was another host.

"As for me." Luke continued, his voice taking on a deeper inflection. "Look at this world we're in. Pirates just doing whatever they want, followers of 'justice' that torture and cheat. It makes me resent humans the world over. That was when I realized he was sleeping within me, and then my will-"

"-And my will."

"Became one." He spoke, first in his own voice, then in the voice of the dark lord.

Luke paused, awkwardly scratching his head as he'd always done.

"But I've nothing against you guys." He said, his voice entirely his own again. "You guys were great, and looking back, I'll really miss this time out at sea with you all. I know it's just you and Gourry now but please."

"Find a way home." He pleaded. "When the dark lord inside me has pulled his astral body over, then this dimension will break. When that happens, I want you to get yourselves home, before the world outside comes crashing down."

In the small part of her mind not controlled by hysteria, Lina noted this was the most sincere thing he'd said to her since they met.

"You aren't joking." Lina said. "But why now? We won the challenge! What do you mean just me and Gourry? Everyone is coming back!"

"No, they aren't." Luke spoke. "No one is coming back. The challenge was a farce, and they were never planning to bring us back from the very beginning."

* * *

...

* * *

Amelia yawned and stretched her arms. She'd just had a most terrible nightmare! She had somehow imagined that they were in a fighting challenge against a bunch of bounty hunters, where all of them had to go into this strange closed-off dimension. Then something had happened at night, but her memories were a bit unclear on that. She shivered slightly from the cold, but it was just a shallow cold on her skin, not the penetrating chill from her dream. Also gone was the burning sensation in her chest, which was nice.

Amelia opened her eyes. Wait. This wasn't her room on the ship, nor was it an inn. She was lying on a damp stone floor, in a dimly lit cavern, illuminated by clusters of glowing crystals embedded within its smooth stone walls.

She was back where the challenge had begun.

Amelia tensed and her hand flew to her chest, memories of the night ambush welling up within her mind. As if in response, a throbbing pain flared up, but there was nothing there. No blood, no marks. Just memories.

The revelation served to calm her, and the adrenaline rush started to cool down. She recalled the rules and conditions of the challenge, and if she was back here, then did that mean they had won?

Amelia noticed Zelgadis lying beside her, and Milina just beyond. Nervously, she reached out with a hand and shook Zelgadis's shoulder.

To her relief, Zelgadis came to with a yell, leaping to his feet with a spell half cast before realizing where he was. The noise woke up Milina, who stirred and sat up slowly, as if coming to from a long sleep. Amelia broke out into a smile, choosing not to dwell on the fact that she had _died_, but on the sheer joy of being alive and among friends again.

Her elation faded just as quickly when she noticed that three were still missing.

"You said if we won we would have everyone back." Zelgadis growled, glaring at something on the far side of the room. Amelia followed his gaze, her eyes settling on the three elders, who were gathered around the younger woman that she remembered was responsible for enacting the challenge. Noticing Zelgadis's hostile expression, the old woman took a step back, hands raised defensively.

"It should have worked!" The old woman said, bewildered. "Mistress Singh, extract the remaining contestants at once."

"I can't! Something is blocking my attempts." The younger woman cried. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, soaking into her blindfold, and Amelia realized this was the first time she had heard this woman speak.

Amelia's gaze shifted to the central pillar. She remembered the crystal flashing through a rainbow of colors before, but now its interior was choked with a seething red haze. Its straight edges and smooth facets were deforming, softening and flowing like hot wax. She could almost feel the rage rolling off it in waves.

"It's the demon." The astropath said, trembling. "It's taken control of the projection. I can see their souls within, but I can't reach them!"

Amelia noticed Xellos sitting off to one side, his wrists still cuffed together, brows furrowed with concern. Her mind jumped to the obvious conclusion, but if that was true, then who was it? Could Miss Lina have really been-

"Is it Luke?" Milina said.

The old woman replied with a slow and solemn nod.

"Then," Milina bit her lip, "is there anything you can do for us?"

The old woman said nothing and looked to the astropath for answers, and the younger woman paused in thought.

"If I could regain control, it may be possible to separate them." She said finally. "But his soul is entwined with that of the demon. I can see flickers of independence but I wouldn't be able to grasp it alone like this."

Amelia felt like she'd been punched in the gut, but kept herself from visibly despairing. She didn't know how the challenge had progressed, but it was clear that they had already won. Miss Lina had won, and had gotten them back. And maybe she could get Mr. Luke back too, one way or another.

"Elders! We have trouble!" A voice cut through the silence.

Amelia noticed a man standing at the entrance, dressed in plain clothing similar to what she'd seen around the island, panting and breathing heavily from running here. He took a moment to gather himself, then continued.

"Sea Kings approaching the coast! Three of them!" He cried.

The faces of the three elders paled at that, clearly visible even in the dim light. Amelia recalled the telling of Lina's first encounter with Ruby Eye, whose awakening had caused the local monsters to become hostile. And during their time at sea, they had encountered more than a few sea monsters big enough to swallow their entire ship.

She stood up after a moment's hesitation.

"C'mon Mr. Zelgadis." She said, her hand curling into a fist. "We have to go stop them."

"Why should we?" Zelgadis scowled. "If anything, they brought all this on themselves with their stupid challenge."

"But the people out in town didn't do that." Amelia replied, looking Zelgadis right in the eyes. "Even if the challenge wasn't just, innocent people don't deserve to suffer because of it."

Zelgadis made a noise in his throat, and Amelia glanced over at the worried faces of the elders before looking back at him for confirmation.

"Fine." Zelgadis said. "We'll have to work fast though since there's three of them."

Neither of them wanted to ask Milina to come. It just didn't seem right.

But if that was how it was going to be, then they'd have to take some risks to draw the sea monsters away before they could enter the town. Amelia glanced at Zelgadis. She had been the first to die, and she didn't want to imagine how that must have made him feel.

"I suppose I could lend you a hand." Xellos spoke, defusing some of the tension. He raised his cuffed wrists, black flames igniting over his manacles, burning the restraints to ashes and freeing his hands.

As the three of them passed the messenger, Amelia thought she heard someone say 'thank you' in a low voice, though when she turned her head to have a glance she was too far to tell who it was.

* * *

...

* * *

"The challenge is a farce? You don't know that!" Lina argued back. "Isn't there some other way for us to all get out of here? Then we'll get the others back and it'll all be fine."

Luke shook his head. "It won't be. These followers of justice are just being selfish, just as selfish as anyone. They won't give the others back."

"So you've already decided? You say you hate the world, but isn't that just because of the dark lord inside of you?" Lina asked.

"I've decided. This is how it ends." Luke replied, his voice once again mixed with that of the dark lord.

Lina closed her eyes, her mind flashing through images of the people they'd met along their journey here. Then with a deep breath, she opened them once more.

"Luke, you know I can't just go along with this." Lina said.

She waited for his reaction.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said at last. "I guess there's no other choice then, is there?"

Lina sighed.

"One last thing then." She said. "Did Milina say anything to you, after I left, when it was just the two of you. Did she tell you to avenge her by destroying the world?"

Luke opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out, and instead his features contorted slightly as if he were having some sort of internal conflict. A white mask appeared in his hand, featureless but for a pair of eye sockets, inlaid with glimmering red gems. He pressed the mask to his face where it clung to his skin, its edges merging almost seamlessly.

"This will ensure that you do not find it difficult to fight me with my original face." He said, his voice lowering to a rumbling baritone. His fingers closed, grasping an object that coalesced from the air, tendrils of coiling bone that formed the body of a staff, topped by a gleaming red jewel. The Demon King's Staff of Bones.

"So, shall we begin?"

Lina replied with a slow nod and took a step back, keeping her eyes fixed on the red jewels in Luke's mask as she steeled her emotions. Lightning flashed, crimson arcs crawling through the clouds in what felt like slow motion, but was in reality brief seconds.

* * *

...

* * *

Gourry clutched his head as he sprinted through the forest, the trees around him growing gradually sparser and thinner. His heart drummed in his ears, and despite his growing fatigue, his limbs felt light and tingly.

The others were alive. He didn't really understand how all this 'closed space' business worked, but somehow he knew they were well again and already outside. Two of them were fainter, as if they were further away, but he could still hear them. He felt euphoric, like his head was in the clouds.

Fear. There was that too. Lina was already fighting, fighting against something that was at once Luke and also not.

Hope, borne from snatches of thoughts and conversations filtering in from the outside. Maybe, just maybe, they could get Luke back too.

If they could find a way to get out.

A final burst of speed sent him hurtling past the forest border, landing him on a rocky plain where two figures were visible and moving. Lina, dancing back as she hurled a kaleidoscopic barrage of spells. And the other, who he knew was Luke despite the smooth white mask, dissipating the attacks with sweeping movements of his staff.

"Lina!" Gourry called out as he drew his own weapon. "Lina the others are back!"

* * *

...

* * *

"What?!" Lina said, taking a step back. Though her attention was on Gourry for the moment, she didn't fail to notice that Luke had paused as well.

"Yeah, they're alive, but outside." Gourry said, drawing up beside her. "That old lady had them brought back like she said she would."

"Then how come we're still in here?" Lina asked, keeping Luke within her peripheral vision. Not that she wanted to be outside with things as they were. Touching a hand to Gourry's sword, she enchanted it with an Astral Vine, causing its blade to hum and glow a dull red.

"I don't really get how it works, but they said something about not being able to reach us in here anymore."

Lina understood. Ruby Eye was using his power to strengthen the boundaries of the barrier, blocking off whatever method the astropath had used to move them in and out. With that, the fragment would be able to cloister itself inside, using Luke as an anchor to draw in his full power from their world. Then, without having to endure the restrictions that constrained Xellos, the dark lord would make good on his promise.

"Also, they said they might be able to bring Luke back too." Gourry said.

Lina didn't get a chance to respond when the dark lord exploded into motion, having apparently heard something that he didn't like. His staff clanged against Gourry's sword, while tendrils of red miasma slashed at his limbs. Gourry leapt back, turning the staff aside and deflecting it downward. Its tip stabbed into the ground, and where it touched soil and stone were burned to microscopic ash, leaving a gaping chasm where solid ground had been.

"Zelas Brid!" Lina separated herself and summoned a ribbon of white, which snaked between the two combatants, striking at the dark lord's mask like a coiling whip. He rocked back on his heels, but when the light faded the dark lord's mask was unblemished.

"How? They can really do that?" Lina asked. She pressed a palm against the ground, summoning a glowing blue pentagram appeared around the dark lord's feet. Icy tendrils thrust out to seize him, but with a swing of a hand the dark lord shattered them, sending a wall of slicing shards hurtling in Lina's direction. Lina raised her arms reflexively and scrunched her eyes shut, but when she opened them she saw that Gourry was in front of her. Sword flashing, he sliced apart the largest fragments, but came away with bleeding cuts to his arms and legs.

"Gourry!" Lina cried, starting up a Recovery spell.

"Don't worry about me, Lina." Gourry held out a hand to stop her. "Think of a way to save Luke. They said something about having to separate their wills."

Lina took a deep breath, and forced some calm into her mind. Had to think. Separating their wills. Like with Rezo. Though they first had to restore their connection with the outside before they could even consider doing anything.

"Elmekia Lance!" Lina cried, flinging a spear of light at the advancing dark lord, who raised his staff and dissipated the spell with a pulse from its red gem. But it was time enough, for her purposes.

"Ferrous Bleed!" She said, cradling a rippling distortion between her hands. If she could just call in something from the outside, then its entrance would create an opening in the barrier.

The distortion shuddered and shrank into nothing. It wasn't enough. The spell didn't have enough power to overcome Ruby Eye's reinforcement.

The dark lord sped forth, renewing his assault against Gourry, his staff moving like an ashen blur. Gourry retreated, his blade weaving like water, but the staff pierced through his guard and tapped lightly against his thigh. Gourry cried out as his leg guard withered away to nothing, and he dropped to his knees, managing to dodge away on his hands but leaving his sword behind.

Lina's eyes flicked to her talismans. A Ragna Blade would work, but where would that leave her? Would she still have strength enough to finish the job, even if the everything worked out?

Her eyes widened as her racing thoughts settled on another option.

"Gourry get back!" Lina commanded, rushing to him and pressing a palm against the ground. She discharged another Astral Vine, this time into the earth, before retreating backwards herself.

Not knowing what she was doing, the dark lord advanced, striding over the enchanted patch of earth. And as he did, Lina sent a pulse of earth magic into the ground, striking at him with masses of stabbing stone spikes. Normal earthen spikes didn't have the power to even inconvenience a Mazoku, but to his surprise the reinforced earth held him back, at least for the moment.

Lina recalled the description they had gleaned from the island's poneglyph, before all this had started. She repeated the words in her mind. Ruby Eye wasn't from this world, which meant that a surge of energy from a local entity should work just as well as a physical object.

That time, the description hadn't worked with a Dynast-class incantation, but that wasn't what she needed right now anyway. What she needed was power, in as great a quantity as she could get. She had to succeed here.

_"Aspirant beyond the veil, king of the blue sky."_ She chanted. _"Buried in the field of dreams is where your power lies."_

She could feel it this time, the power pulsing within her. It was turbulent, straining against its bounds, wild like a raging ocean storm.

_"I call upon thee, and swear myself to thee."_ She continued. _"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"_

She had no power words to focus the spell energies, but there was no time to think about that, so she simply forced out the energy in the direction that "felt" right. The stone spikes before her crumbled, collapsing into cheap gravel, and the dark lord resurfaced none worse for the wear. As he turned his gaze toward her, Lina felt a jolt of white panic strobing through her mind. Why wasn't anything happening?

Then Lina looked up.

The roiling clouds were parting. No, not parting, but being blown apart, peeling away and exposing the clear blue sky beyond. Light glittered and flowed across the azure expanse, like rippling waves on the ocean's surface. Then from the center, a column of blue light stabbed downward, striking at the dark lord.

The red aura evaporated in the silent, searing radiance, exposing him to the scorching impact. Stone vanished beneath the blast, sublimating, and the very air bent to and fro in a shimmering pattern of distortion lines.

The dark lord screamed, giving off a hideous, inhuman roar, intertwined with Luke's voice. And yet for his part, Luke seemed to be laughing, or weeping joyfully.

The sky dimmed, and the streak of light slackened and died. The dark lord stumbled out of the fading glare, his staff broken in his arms. Hairline cracks spread across his mask, and it fell, shattering against the ground and turning to dust. Unmasked, he dropped to his knees, eyes wide with surprise.

'Witnesses', the old woman had said, back when the challenge had begun. It seemed like it had happened so long ago. Then, if they were witnesses, did that mean that they were watching now?

"Granny!" Lina called to their unseen observer. "If you can hear me, just take Gourry out and leave me here for now. I have one last thing I need to do."

Gourry turned, eyes wide. "Hey Lina, you aren't gonna-"

Lina held up a hand to interrupt him, then shook her head slowly.

"Sorry Gourry." She said. "But this is something I have to do alone. Go on, and I'll see you outside."

"Wait Lina!" Gourry cried, reaching out with a hand. Lina extended her own, but before they could touch, there was a flash of light followed by the whoosh of air rushing to fill an sudden void. Lina's gaze lingered on that empty space for a minute longer, before she allowed her hand to drop. She turned to Luke, who was also staring at the spectacle.

Lina widened her stance, raising her hands to form the shape of a cross with her talismans. For a moment she feared that the artifacts would fail her, since Ruby Eye could choose to withhold his power from them.

They lit up on command, pulsing with their familiar glow. She took it to mean that Luke's will was with her.

Lina brought her hands together, and took a deep breath.

_"Darkness beyond the blackest pitch. Deeper than the deepest night."_ She began. _"The Sea of Chaos, and the one who shines like gold upon it."_

Space distorted and tore apart, forming holes that revealed the nothingness beyond the world. Black tendrils crawled through, coiling around her, so dark that they seemed to devour the surrounding light. Trees were uprooted, and hurled skyward along with building-sized boulders, flying through the air like so much confetti before dissolving into colorless ash.

_"I call upon thee, and swear myself to thee. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"_ Lina cried. She threw up her hands, molding the gathering energies into a cohesive orb above her head. Heaven screamed and earth shuddered at the moment of its formation, the forces of oblivion grinding away the laws of existence.

"Luke." Lina said, meeting his gaze with her own. She was trembling now from the exertion, her face flushed, beads of cold sweat building up on her forehead. A lock of hair drifted in front of her face, bright copper fading rapidly to white.

"Did Milina say anything to you. When the two of you were alone?"

"She said to me… I mustn't hate anyone." He replied, struggling to form those words.

"And you listened. I know you did. So, isn't it the dark lord within you who hates the world?"

The ground was starting to crack, fissures opening up, swallowing up mountains and rivers and hurling them into the darkness below. The gaps crawled across empty air as well, holes in the fabric of reality, spawning howling vortices as the atmosphere vented into the void.

The dark lord rose to his feet, and an infernal cloud spilled from his chest, compressing into a glowing orb held in one hand. He thrust out his palm, unleashing a nova stream of raw red light, which shattered the landscape with its mere passage. Lina gasped as it slammed into the boundary of her spell's barrier, feeling the twisting sensation of her reserves being drained away at an even faster rate. She gritted her teeth and thought of the others, who were counting on her now to bring Luke back.

"Luke, you know better than anyone now that Shabranigdo can only give destruction." She said, doing her best to keep her quivering voice steady.

"And once he's destroyed the world, returned everything to chaos, then he'll also be destroyed, and there will just be nothing forevermore."

She couldn't even see him anymore, her vision filled with flashes of lurid red flames wrestling against the darkness. The relentless thunder of the clashing powers boomed in her ears, and her own voice seemed so tiny and hoarse by comparison.

"But that isn't you." She continued.

"I know you saw what happened with Gourry, and you know what it means for us. That old granny kept her promise. Everyone is back, Amelia, Zel, and Milina."

The beam began to weaken, the pressure of the warring powers abating slightly.

"So Luke, come back out to sea with us, and give this world another chance." The hungry depleting sensation was white-hot now, the burn filling her mind. Her breaths were short and ragged, lungs struggling for air.

"That's what you really want, right Luke? I know it is." She nearly whispered, as tears stung at her eyes and began to blur her vision. The pain began to recede, its light giving way to shadow, sweeping away sensation and clouding her thoughts.

"Because-" Lina started. There was nothing left now but her will, a last mote of will that shined against the swirling blackness. Unconsciousness came for her, whispering promises of blissful oblivion.

She defied it, forged will into action, fought off the darkness and wrung the words from her throat.

**"BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR!"**

The flames faded at once, a red curtain pulling away, revealing Luke standing there with a look of surprise. For a moment his eyes met Lina's, before he was carried away in a bright flash, leaving behind a roiling cloud of red shadow. Lina willed her limbs to move, but before she could hurl the dread missile in her hands the formless mass streamed forward. It flowed through gaps in her spell's protective barrier, filling her vision, clouding her thoughts with a vivid red haze.

Then, in the eye of her mind, Lina saw the miasma part like fog drawing back from the rising sun. It blew away, retreating, dissipating before a trail of shimmering golden footprints.

* * *

...

* * *

The next thing Lina was aware of was the realization that she was sitting down, and that the gnawing empty feeling was gone. There was also the sensation of something around her shoulder, supporting her.

Lina opened her eyes and waited for her vision to swim into focus, finding herself staring into Gourry's face. She noticed that it was his arm wrapped around her, and she felt the familiar warmth of his hands on her shoulders.

"Lina, you okay?" He asked.

Lina nodded and stood up, and as her eyes adjusted she found herself face to face with the rest of her friends. Amelia's torso was bloodless, and Lina watched her shaky grin grow into a delighted smile. Zelgadis gave Lina a nod, while Xellos leaned against a boulder behind him, his expression serene and simultaneously unreadable. The astropath woman and the three elders stood a respectful distance away.

Searching around, Lina found Luke and Milina standing off to one side, looking well and perfectly healthy. Luke seemed to be suffering from a headache though, from the way Milina was cradling his head in her hands.

"Lina, I-" He started, then stopped abruptly. Then he cringed and bowed his head, waiting for her reaction, her judgement.

"It's okay, no need to say anything." Lina replied, gesturing for him to look up. Leaning back into Gourry's shoulder, she broke out into a smile. Everything was going to be alright.

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** It has been a long time coming, but we are now at the end of what I consider to be Part 1. An epilogue will follow, which I guess can also act as a prologue for a Part 2.


	25. Chapter 25 - Act 1 Epilogue

**Chapter 25: Epilogue**

**Revelation Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

"The challenge is concluded." The old woman said, stepping forward from her two peers. She was trying to speak calmly, but at the same time seemed to be out of breath. Turning, Lina looked over the six bodies laid out across the chamber just past her, already covered in white funerary sheets. She noticed that one was wearing a colorful jacket, and a green cap with goggles, but gave them little more attention than that.

"So, what happens now?" Lina ventured.

"As we have witnessed, challengers Lina Inverse and Luke were the last surviving participants." The old woman said, to the murmured agreement of her two compatriots. "Therefore, we declare you to be the lawful victors, and all charges have been dropped."

"In addition." She continued. "Though we have never seen a challenge such as yours before, it has become evident to us that you were not the perpetrators of the initial crime, and the challenge law was applied incorrectly."

She paused briefly and slowly shook her head. "We cannot undo what has been done, and so we apologize for putting you through that ordeal."

"Yeah, guess so." Lina said, keeping her expression carefully neutral. She supposed that since it had been a frame-up, the trial wasn't really the old woman's fault, even if she was the one who had made the challenge happen.

"So then, we can go?" Lina asked.

"You are free to leave any time you wish, and we have sent out instructions in this regard." The old woman replied, the corners of her mouth curling up into the beginnings of a smile. "Plus, anyone who would have obstructed you would surely have had a change of heart after what your three crewmates did for us."

Lina noticed Amelia grinning slightly at that, and filed it under the list of things to ask about later. She turned toward the exit, wanting nothing more than to be off and away as quickly as possible.

"Ah, wait, there is one more matter." The old woman began. "The incantation of yours that opened the barrier, was that what you learned from reading the Poneglyph at the center of town?"

Lina froze, then whirled around to stare at the old woman. Her friends did the same, and Lina could see the relief melting from their faces. Her mind raced, trying to think of something to say. Her fingers twitched. No way were they going through with this again.

Noting Lina's apprehension, the old woman raised her hand in a placating gesture. Standing a little straighter, she took a deep breath, and forced some authority into her voice.

"We are the descendants of the people who created that artifact." She said. "And though we do our best to preserve as many of their traditions as possible, we have long since lost the ability to read those symbols."

"And that is as it should be, for we know well what happened to Ohara." She continued. "The World Government forbids all study of those blocks, and because of that, there are notable gaps in the historical record. What do you think of this?"

There was a brief silence before Amelia spoke up.

"That isn't right, erasing history like that." She said. "Doesn't that mean they could be hiding something?"

Lina quirked up an eyebrow when the old woman's expression bloomed into a satisfied smile.

"If that is what you believe, then go on, and do as you will." The old woman said. "And perhaps some day it will be you who ties together the broken threads of history."

* * *

...

* * *

The evil red clouds spawned by Shabranigdo's power were gone when the crew emerged from the mountain, and Amelia was surprised to see that it was noon. Her last memory of the challenge had been at the dead of night, and remembering it still brought a chill to her spine. She glanced out across the island, to where the dorsal ridges of one of the attacking sea kings could be seen jutting from the water. She and Zelgadis had merely driven theirs away, but Xellos hadn't been so merciful.

With food already stocked and the log pointing to the next island, the crew wasted no time setting out to sea. The winds were favorable, the waters calm, and the ship echoed with the sound of boots on the deck as everyone pitched in to drop sails and secure the rigging. The island grew smaller as the hours passed, until at last the summit of the central mount dipped below the horizon.

Amelia took up her usual spot on in the ship's crow's nest, and from her perch she could observe the odd habits that some of them seemed to have developed. Normally Zelgadis preferred to remain in the cabin, but he had dragged his tools outside for the day, tinkering with his firearms out on the open deck. He had even flown up to check up on her a few times, even though nothing unusual had happened. Luke hovered even closer to Milina than he normally did, and where normally he would've received a rebuke, now none seemed to be forthcoming. Only Lina and Gourry seemed relatively unaffected, and Lina was quick to pick up on the changed in behavior.

"Hey guys, I know that old lady said they totally restored our bodies to normal and all, but it we still spent basically two days eating nothing but boiled berries." She said, making a face.

"How about we break open all that food we got, and have a nice dinner that'll help us forget all about this."

No one needed to be told twice.

* * *

...

* * *

"So, Amelia, what did you guys do that had all of them so grateful anyway?" Lina asked over a mouthful of fish. She stood up, leaning across the table to carve off a slice of ham, then passed the knife to Gourry beside her.

"Well, some sea monsters attacked right before you guys got out." Amelia replied. "And so I got Mr. Zelgadis and Mr. Xellos to come with me to fight them off."

She paused. "Because all the things that happened to us still isn't the fault of the people in town."

"Sea monsters huh? Well, I guess that makes sense with what happened inside." Lina said, gulping down the contents of her mug.

"Speaking of Xellos, it's nice to see that joker doing something useful for once." She added before standing up to pour herself another drink.

"So Miss Lina, was it you that beat the last of those bounty hunters?" Amelia asked once Lina had seated herself back down.

"No, that was Luke." Lina replied, gesturing across the table at him with a fork. "Luke was the one that got rid of that creepy chameleon guy, so if you wanna thank somebody for us winning, it's him you want."

"Don't thank me." Luke said, looking at nothing in particular. "No need to."

Amelia was starting to paint for herself a picture of what had happened in the end, and that combined with Luke's expression convinced her to abandon that line of questioning. The poor guy had obviously gone through an ordeal and then some.

Luke was jolted from his thoughts by a sharp clink, and he looked down, noticing Lina drawing back with a piece of chicken she had stolen from his plate.

"What? You were staring off into space and it was getting cold, so I figured you didn't want it." Lina said in response to Luke's glare.

"Well I did." Luke replied, raising his own fork. "And if you can steal my food then I can steal yours too."

Before Luke could make good on his threat, the sound of flapping wings entered the room, followed by a repetitive, high-pitched chittering. The others tensed, and Zelgadis's hands moved toward his guns, only relaxing when a small bat fluttered in from an open window, grasping in its two hind legs a sealed envelope that had the navy's symbol clearly displayed.

Amelia broke the puzzled stillness by reaching out with her hands, and the creature surrendered its package to her before flying away just as quickly. She tore it open, and there was the sound of shuffling chairs as everyone got up and crowded around to read.

"What, no way!" Lina exclaimed, gripping the back of Amelia's seat.

* * *

...

* * *

That night, Lina sat in the cabin, still clutching the letter that had arrived during dinner. It was her turn on watch, so she made sure to give the Log Pose a glance now and then to confirm that they were heading in the right direction.

The letter contained an offer, extending to her a seat among the government's Seven Warlords, privateers essentially. The terms of the position had been described, including a blanket pardon for herself and anyone she labeled as her subordinate, plus access to government facilities for as long as she held the post. There were responsibilities as well, an obligation to only attack outlaws and to fight for the government during major conflicts, as well as a tithe consisting of a portion of any plunder she happened to come across. The first was something she was had planned on doing anyway, and Lina figured she could probably just fudge that last condition whenever they weren't looking.

Lina pulled open a window, letting in a gust of chilly night air and taking a deep breath to help clear her head. A part of her wanted to refuse, to not be beholden to anyone, but recent events had put a bit of a damper on that sentiment. The others would definitely agree, even if nobody wanted to say it out loud. She was the one with the big bounty stamped on her head after all, and that was attracting unwanted attention and putting everyone else in danger. There would be responsibilities, yes, but she had responsibilities to her friends too, didn't she?

Summoning an orb of light in her hand and holding it close, Lina pored over the contents of the letter again. There was no mention of any collateral, simply instructions to bring the letter to a Marine base, at which point the higher government powers would be contacted to complete her induction.

Lina glanced at the Log Pose again. If the next island had such a base, then she would go through with it.

A flicker of movement outside pulled Lina from her thoughts, and peering through the open window, she noticed Xellos sitting on railing near the ship's bow. She hadn't seen any sign of him since they'd left the island, and seeing him now reminded her of something that the old woman had said. The broken threads of history. Well, she could think of some broken threads that needed to be tied up right now.

Pulling her hair back to keep it from blowing into her face, Lina stepped out from the cabin. Xellos turned as she approached.

"Oh, what a surprise seeing you out here at this hour, Lina." He said with his usual smile. "How might I be of help to you?"

"Yeah, yeah, just cut the chit-chat." Lina waved him off. "I think it's time you stopped being so coy with us about what exactly is going on here."

"Oh?" Xellos made a puzzled expression. "What ever do you mean?"

"Like the fact that we're in another world, and you can somehow read their ancient writings." Lina pointed out. "Which means there's some sort of connection. Plus there's that spell I used that we got from the center of that island."

"But I didn't see what happened." Xellos replied. "Perhaps you could elaborate further?"

"Well you remember when I tried to cast it the first time, based on the Dynast Brass." Lina looked down at her hands, repeating the words in her head.

"And that didn't work at all. But when I patterned the incantation off of the Dragon Slave, when we were inside that barrier, I was able to get it off."

"Very interesting. So you're saying you think the entity that that spell calls upon is a power on par with Lord Ruby Eye?" Xellos offered.

"Maybe." Lina replied. Her eyes scanned over her four talismans, and then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait, back when you sold me these." She gestured toward the artifacts. "I remember you telling me the names of the other three dark lords too. That's the connection isn't it? So this wasn't just some random world that was just out there somewhere."

"Oh it seems you're on to something, and I remember telling you their names as well!" Xellos clasped his hands together. "Would you kindly list them out for us then?"

"Well we can rule out Shabranigdo, and probably Dark Star since we've seen what he's like." Lina counted off on her fingers. "And I don't know if any of that stuff sounds like it would fit the one called Death Fog."

"So that just leaves us with..." Lina trailed off, glancing at Xellos for confirmation. His expression remained inscrutable, but he gestured for her to continue. Lina nodded, and counted off the last finger.

"Chaotic Blue."

* * *

...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Anyway, thanks to everyone who stuck with me until the end of part 1, and I hope you all enjoyed this installment of A Sea of Stars. I'll probably go on a break of a few months to polish things up and wait for the manga to progress, and then I'll see you again when we resume here with part 2.


	26. Chapter 26 - Warlord

**Chapter 26: Warlord**

**Red Line Arc**

* * *

...

* * *

A curtain of mist blew across the summit of the Red Line, obscuring the afternoon sun. Slanting folds of illumination slid through gaps in the blanket of white, scattering over the rust-hued peaks, trawling across the steepled spires of sacred Mariejois. A breeze slipped in through an open door, ghosting across the polished marble floor of the Chamber of the Five Elders.

"Has the new fleet admiral been sworn in?" The first of the elders turned to regard their visitor, folding his hands over the tip of his wooden cane.

"Yes, sir." The Marine officer replied, shutting the door behind him and quickly lowering himself to one knee. "Fleet Admiral Sakazuki was sworn in at Marine Headquarters this morning."

"And I suppose nothing can be done about Kuzan's case."

"No, sir. Admiral Kuzan could not be dissuaded, and submitted his resignation to the commander-in-chief as the ceremony was completed. And on that subject, the fleet admiral would like to know what your thoughts are regarding his proposed policies."

"We will take them under consideration." The elder replied. "The Marines are the outward face of the World Government, and with the loss of Kuzan's strength, it may be necessary to increase recruitment.

"Blackbeard has proven to be difficult to stop, with Impel Down still in his possession." Another of the elders spoke, resting the hilt of his sword against his shoulder. "But for now, the restoration of the Seven Warlords will do much to restore the balance between the Great Powers. What progress have we made on this?"

"We have already received an answer from Buggy the Clown, though our second candidate has yet to make a reply." The Marine officer replied. "And while we have been unable to make contact with Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, one other member has submitted intentions to attend."

* * *

...

* * *

Coby stood at attention, staring straight ahead as his ship cut across the waves. The ocean breeze blew through his messy pink hair, and he adjusted his bandanna to keep it from getting in his eyes. Helmeppo stood beside him, keeping his posture almost ramrod straight. Commodore Bogard sat at the bow, arms crossed and face shaded by the brim of his hat.

The Summit War and its aftermath had changed many things within the Marines. With the retirement of Vice Admiral Garp to an instructional position, Bogard, his former second, had been assigned to independent command. Coby and Helmeppo still saw the old man during their time off for training, but now served under Bogard's direction while they were out at sea. The ascension of the new fleet admiral had instilled in Coby a fear that his position would be jeopardized by his actions at the conclusion of the war, but thankfully, his concerns never came to pass. In fact, the casualties of the war had left the Marines with a dire shortage in its officer corps, resulting in himself and Helmeppo finding themselves on a fast track for officer candidacy, so long as they could produce the deeds to merit it.

Coby stared out at the horizon, where the dark outline of a distant island was beginning to take shape. Despite the personnel deficiencies, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki had ordered that no leniency be given in combating the rise in piracy triggered by Whitebeard's death. As a result, deployment rates were hitting record highs along the Grand Line and across the four Blues.

And that was why they were out here today. They were on the hunt for pirates.

Coby found his thoughts turning to matters of his friend, Monkey D. Luffy. They had met on opposite sides of the battlefield at Marineford, an encounter that had left Coby hospitalized when Luffy made his return to Marine headquarters and made front page news with his actions there.

Coby had devoured the reams of reports produced by the headquarters staff, all attempting to analyze the meaning of Luffy's actions. All of their conclusions were wrong of course, for Luffy was not a man who did things to attract publicity. Coby didn't know what, but somewhere in there was a message, a message for those that he cared about.

"Commodore!" A sailor's shout snapped Coby out of his thoughts. "Pirate ship spotted in the island's bay beside the town. We've also sighted another Marine vessel anchored on the other side."

"Have they contacted us?" Bogard said, raising his head slightly and adjusting his pipe.

"No, sir. Their insignia has been removed, and they aren't responding to our requests for reply."

Peering through a pair of binoculars, Coby had no time to ponder the mystery when an explosion erupted aboard the deck of the pirate ship, engulfing the masts and spawning a cloud of flames that blossomed skyward. His stomach leapt into his throat, and he could see from the corner of his eye that Helmeppo was doing his best to suppress a similar reaction. The world truly was filled with monsters. But still, if after all he had been through, Luffy was still determined to chase his dreams, then the least Coby could do was to continue pursuing his.

"Set a course for the pirates." Bogard said after a short pause. "Hold fire once we are in range, and prepare to drop anchor. I have a few guesses regarding what is happening here."

* * *

...

* * *

"So that'll be eight million for beating up those pirates, as we agreed right?" Lina said, clasping her hands together and smiling. The pirate ship blazed behind her, covered in roaring flames that devoured sails and blackened masts, silhouetting her figure and casting her face into flickering shadow.

After receiving a letter from the World Government inviting her to join the Seven Warlords, and spending the last few weeks unsuccessfully looking for some Marines to turn it over to, Lina had pushed that thought to the back of her mind. If the Marines weren't going to be around, then it was just as well that she found a way to profit from their absence.

During all this time spent on the sea, Lina had gotten quite practiced at anti-ship warfare. Ice across the gun-ports, wind blades through the sails, and a barrage vibration blasts to the keel in quick succession was enough to disable most ships before their crews could even react. Wholly unprepared for the magical onslaught that Lina had unleashed, the pirates had gone from raiding and robbing to routing in under a minute. Now bound up hand and foot by magically animated ropes, with a golem looming over them to ensure that nobody escaped, they continued to glare daggers at her from where they had been tied up by the water.

"Eight million." The town's mayor nodded. With trembling hands, the old man held up a basket for Lina to take, filled with assorted coins and a large clump of wrinkled bills.

"Hmm, I was expecting something a little more presentable, but I'll take what I can get." Lina took the basket and gave its contents a once-over. "Oh Lina, you're so generous and forgiving."

The old man looked down and mumbled, barely loud enough for Lina to hear. "We had to go around to collect just to get this much."

He seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Well then, I guess I'll be leaving you all with an additional lesson on the virtues of saving up." Lina said, starting up a count of the payment.

"Also remember that all of the treasure and bounties belong to me too." She added, giving her cloak a tug to make sure that all of the liberated treasure was still securely attached. The mayor said nothing, though he did make a pitiful sound that was halfway between a croak and a sob.

"Wow Lina, with the way you bargain, it almost seems like it would be easier to just get robbed by the pirates." Gourry mumbled from behind her. One of Lina's eyebrows twitched with irritation, but she swallowed her annoyance and ignored the jab. Finishing up the count, she confirmed the correct amount, and dismissed the mayor with a wave of her hand. Never had she seen an old man scramble away as quickly as he did.

"Say Lina, by bounties do you mean these guys?" Gourry jabbed a thumb at the pirates once the mayor was gone. "What're you planning to do with them?"

"We can leave them here for now while I about it." Lina said, taking a moment to look over her prisoners. "I'd like to turn them in for their rewards but we've already spent weeks looking for some Marines and still ended up with nothing."

She sighed. "And knowing our luck..."

"Wait, we were looking for Marines?" Gourry interrupted her thoughts. "What about the ones we saw yesterday?"

Lina just blinked. There were a lot of things wrong with what he was saying.

"What do you mean yesterday? We didn't see any Marines yesterday." She said, deciding to get all of the details before doing anything else.

"When you were all outside because it was nice and sunny, didn't you see the ship that passed us in the distance at portside?" Gourry said, then scratched his head. "Or was it starboard?"

"And the day before that, when that giant fish attacked, there was another one that passed behind us before it disappeared."

"Gourry." Lina said, drawing out the pronunciation of his name. "So you've been spotting ships and not telling us? How many times did this happen?"

"Well, I figured you all saw them too and just didn't want anything to do with them so…" Gourry started, then stopped himself abruptly. "I mean, there weren't any more before that, really! I swear I'll tell you about them in the future!"

"Wait… are you Lina? As in THE Lina Inverse?" One of the pirates spoke up, interrupting the incipient fisticuffs. The others who had been mumbling something abruptly went silent.

"Shit that is her! It's the Sea Witch! No wonder she was so strong!" Another chimed in, causing the panel of faces to shift into expressions of terror.

"Hey wait just a second here." Lina said.

"I hear that's just her human form that she uses to walk around in disguise."

"Yeah! And the real one has three heads, and live snakes for hair, that she uses to rip out the guts of Sea Kings and eat them alive!"

"That's scary! No wonder she's in the Top Fifty Pirates Who You Don't Want to Meet List."

"What?! Who's spreading these rumors?!" Lina snapped. "And what kind of list is that anyway? What sort of idiot spends time making these things?"

"Please, I'm begging you Miss." One of the pirates pleaded, bending over to touch his forehead to the ground. "My friends and family at home have nothing to do with this. So please do your worst, just leave my hometown alone!"

"Give it a rest!" Lina threw up her hands in frustration. Face flushed with a combination of anger and embarrassment, she grabbed Gourry by the wrist and yanked him along as she stalked off into town.

* * *

...

* * *

Luke and Milina were already seated at the town's seaside restaurant when Lina arrived, where, to Lina's continued irritation, her entrance caused the ever-present buzz of mealtime conversation to fade to an awkward silence. By the time she'd pulled up a seat, most of the patrons had cleared out, and the remainder were spending more time staring than eating.

Stupid bounty. Stupid weird rumors. Stupid pirates yelling them out loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Zelgadis and Amelia joined them soon after, returning from their information finding session. Xellos trailed behind them, his serenely smiling expression as cryptic as always.

"Hey Mister, menus! Food goes down easy when it's paid for by a hard day's work." Lina waved a hand to flag down a passing waiter.

"Actually never mind, just forget the menus." She corrected. "We'll take two orders of everything from the top on down."

The waiter bowed hurriedly and practically sprinted away, which Zelgadis took as the signal to start talking business.

"So Lina, from what we've gathered here it seems we're approaching the end of this region of ocean." Zelgadis said, leaning forward and folding his hands together. He nodded in Luke's direction. "And you two still wanted to go to Fishman Island right? To acquire the ancient weapon whose location we found on that sky island."

"That's the deal." Lina sent Luke a glance. "First one to touch it keeps it."

"Well, you'll not like to hear this then." Zelgadis said. "It seems Fishman Island is located on the seafloor. It's ten thousand meters down, beneath the mountain chain that divides this world's oceans in two."

He held up his log pose, whose needle had started depressing downward. "And this would confirm it. How are we planning to get there?"

The table went silent as everyone sat back, thinking over their options for resolving this dilemma.

"We could go down with Raywing?" Amelia offered, breaking the hush.

"No, that isn't gonna to work." Luke said. "Milina and I had it hard enough getting through the cloud-water underneath that sky island."

"Yeah, and I don't know if the bubble will hold up under that much pressure, nor whether we'd be able to keep it up that long." Lina said. "Plus we'd have to ditch the ship, and who knows what'll have happened to it when we get back."

"Ten thousand meters." Gourry counted off on his fingers before giving up. "I don't know how deep that is but I get the feeling that it would be really hard to swim it."

"I would've thought that a jellyfish like you would have no problems at all." Lina replied. She was just opening her mouth to say more when the first platter of food arrived, and thoughts of the future were pushed aside by the briny scent of fresh seafood.

The meal proceeded without incident, and as Lina was downing a glass of water to wash down the last mouthful, her ears caught the sound of the door slamming open behind her. Marching footsteps pounded through, and a man's voice announced in a stern and clipped tone, "Lina Inverse."

"Oh great, what is it this time?" Lina tilted her head back, hands ready to cast should anyone make any suspicious moves. Her eyes went to the entrance, then widened as she recognized the white and blue uniforms worn by the group of men standing in the doorway. From her peripheral vision, she could see that the others were having similar reactions.

The remaining customers evacuated the premises, making themselves scarce from what seemed to be the site of an imminent battle. The Marines themselves wore their apprehension on their faces, all save for the commanding officer, whose hat framed a perpetual scowl that may as well have been carved in stone.

"What is your answer to the World Government's invitation?" He said.

That jolted Lina from her daze. She sat up, reaching into one of her cloak compartments to retrieve the invitation letter, then scanned over its contents again.

"Gimme a second here." Lina replied to the man, before grabbing the others and pulling them into a corner.

"Alright guys, group huddle." Lina whispered. She glanced back at the Marines, making sure they weren't trying to approach or peek into their circle of heads.

"It's been so long since we've seen one of them that I kinda stopped thinking about it, so best to make sure we're all in the same boat here." She said. "Just to start us off, I'm still in favor of this."

"Miss Lina, are you sure? Do you really think it's okay to work for those people?" Amelia asked.

Lina paused, then gave her a nod.

"I think it should be okay." She said, pointing out the relevant passages on her letter. "It says I'll have to help in times of war, but that can't happen too often right? And in the meantime, it'll be a lot easier for us to go around without this bounty on my head."

"I have no objections if it'll make things easier for us, but make sure you have no regrets." Zelgadis said.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie and say I don't have any regrets whatsoever." Lina replied, gesturing with a hand as she cleared out her thoughts. "But it's not like this is irreversible. If things get too bad for whatever reason, I'll just quit, which is probably why there are empty spots in the first place. And that'd leave us right around where we are now, right?"

Lina looked around, finding a panel of not-disapproving faces. Her questing gaze settled last on Gourry.

"I'll go wherever you're going, Lina." Gourry said.

Lina blinked. "Oh. Thanks."

No one else voiced any disagreements so Lina separated herself from the group, spinning around with a dramatic flourish of her cape.

"Alright, I accept. What happens now?" She said. It came out a lot simpler than it had sounded in her head. The building tension deflated, and the entire room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"You will need to come with us." The commander said. "We will take you to the Holy Land Mariejois, where you will be officially sworn in to your position."

"Holy land huh?" Lina replied, raising an eyebrow, glancing around at her party for confirmation.

"Fine, let's just get it over with." She said.

What confidence Lina did feel faded a bit when the sound of soft applause carried across the establishment. She followed it to their table, where Xellos remained seated, his ruby-tipped staff braced against his shoulder.

"Bravo, bravo." He said. "Well negotiated, Lina."

"Oh enough already." Lina said.

* * *

...

* * *

With the pirates turned over to Marine custody and their bounties paid out in full, the two ships departed immediately for Marineford. It wasn't until the island had vanished behind then when Lina realized that one of the treasure sacks she had liberated from the pirates was missing. Like a bloodhound on a scent, she zeroed in on the culprit, who had been hanging out on the Marines' ship and cautiously approaching some of them.

"You did what?!" Lina said, slamming a hand down against a table for emphasis. Several nearby Marines jumped and edged away from her visible show of emotion.

"Well, I just left one of the treasure bags, so they can have money to fix their town." Amelia said. It was somewhat gratifying to see her grow more and more visibly nervous, but that wasn't going to get the treasure back.

"Amelia, that was my treasure." Lina growled out. "That bag was probably worth as much as their whole payment to me. What's the point of making them pay for my help if you're just going to give it back? Do you know how hard I worked for that loot?"

"And by hard work, Lina's talking about how she blew all the pirates up pretty much instantly. It was kind of sad, really." Gourry added. He folded his arms, doing his best impression of a sagacious nod. "You did a very bad thing Amelia, stealing what Lina just rightfully stole."

"Oh, hush up." Lina shot back. "This goes toward paying for all the food you eat around here, you know."

"Yeah, but you still eat more than me."

"You're not much like what the rumors say, Miss Lina." Another voice cut in. Lina turned to see one of the petty officers approaching, a young man whose pink hair and raised glasses cut a distinctive look despite his generic Marine uniform. Looking past him, Lina could see the guy's blonde partner keeping back, doing his best to seem busy to conceal the fact that he was watching.

"I'm Coby, and that's Helmeppo." Coby gestured toward his friend, who shivered visibly before redoubling on his efforts to look distracted.

"Could I offer you drink?" He said, holding out a cup and tea kettle.

"Oh, sure." Lina said, and the four of them arranged themselves around the table.

"So Miss Lina, is it true you destroyed two of the Gates of Justice?" Coby asked.

"Well, that bit's true." Lina said between sips. "But all of the other rumors going around about me are still completely made up."

"And that you fought with Admiral- I mean, former Admiral Kuzan at Alabasta?"

"Is that the ice guy? Yeah, that happened too." Lina replied. "I'm pretty amazing right? You guys are lucky to have me on your team. In fact if you want, I'll even give you an autograph."

Then it clicked. "Wait, former admiral?"

"Kuzan disagreed with the promotion of Admiral Sakazuki - who you will probably meet - to the position of Fleet Admiral." Coby said with a slight quiver in his voice. "The two of them fought a battle, and when Kuzan lost, he resigned because he disagreed with Sakazuki's vision for the Marines."

"Um, if it's okay to ask, what's your vision of the Marines?" Amelia said.

The question seemed to strike a chord within Coby, who paused and looked down, clenching his fist as if something were building up within him and waiting to erupt out.

"I want to capture pirates who threaten people's lives." He said at last. "And become a real Marine, one who does the most good for the most people. "

He let out a breath, looking like he'd relieved some pressure. "That is my justice."

Amelia smiled and Gourry furrowed his brow, which was what passed for deep thought with him. Lina said nothing and leaned back into her seat, crossing one leg over another. Tuning out the others' small talk, she found her thoughts drifting to the oddness of her present situation, thanks to Coby's words.

Taking on a position as a government warlord was definitely out of the ordinary, but in hindsight, Lina realized that she'd definitely encountered this before. With her connections to Amelia and her many accomplishments to rest on, Lina knew that if she'd wanted, she could have gotten a high-paying position as a magical adviser for Saillune. Invest her pay in a business the way her parents had done, yada yada, and she probably would have ended up with a bigger profit than the usual boom and bust. And in a way, she had always known that, but it had just never really featured on her priorities. Certainly she had done a few teaching stints in exchange for access to guild libraries, but once all was done and everything was paid for, it was back to life on the road for her.

Maybe it was freedom that she'd actually valued. And in accepting this warlord position and the legal protection that came with it, that freedom was what she was trying to get back.

Lina took another sip from her cup, shooting off a sideways glance as she noticed Helmeppo sauntering over.

"Hey Coby, look at you. You've gone and spilled out your goals again." Helmeppo said. "And to a bunch of pirates too."

He lifted his visor and jabbed a thumb toward himself. "And in case you all wanted to know, my goal is to get promoted high enough to boss this guy around. And with this fast track thing that we're on, it won't be long now."

"Feel free to drop the cool guy act." Lina said, rolling her eyes. "We all knew you were watching the whole time."

Gourry and Amelia endorsed her statement with knowing nods.

"Looks like you've been found out, Helmeppo." Coby offered his partner a seat and a cup. "Why don't you come and sit with us?"

"Damn it all!" Helmeppo took the offered seat, then threw up his hands and yelled to no one in particular. "I can't stand these guys!"


End file.
